WHAT 

ILTHE 


A-SEEKING 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
SAN  DIEGO 


presented  to  the 
UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
SAN  DIEGO 

by 


Douglas  Warren 


THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  SAN  DIEGC 

LA  JOLLA.  CALIFORNIA 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S 
A-SEEKING 


BY  THE   SAME  AUTHOR. 


IN  TUNE  WITH  THE  INFINITE, 

OR 

Fulness  of  Peace,  Power,  and  Plenty. 

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cisco Bulletin. 

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whole  runs  a  lofty  mysticism.  *  *  *  Optimistic,  strong, 
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Opinion. 

*  *  *  The   book   should  be   in   the  hands  of  every 
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guide.  *  *  *  It  is  truth  that  the  simple-minded  can  grasp, 
and  that  the  greatest  cannot  exhaust,  or  in  conception 
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Efjomas  g.  CrotoeU  #  Co.  NEWBOYS°TR0K  *N 


WHAT  ALL  THE 

WORLD'S  A-! 


THE     VITAL    LAW    OF    TRUE    LIFE, 

TRUE    GREATNESS,    POWER, 

AND    HAPPINESS 


RALPH    WALDO    TRINE 

AUTHOR  OF 

•  IN  TUNE  WITH  THE  INFINITE,"  "  THE  GREATEST 
THING  EVER  KNOWN." 


Each  is  building  his  -world  from  -within  ;  thought 
is  the  builder  ;  for  thoughts  are  forces,  — subtle, 
•vital,  irresistible,  omnipotent,  —  and  according 
as  used  do  they  bring  power  or  impotence,  peace 
or  pain,  success  or  failure. 

TWENTY-FIRST  THOUSAND 


THOMAS 


NEW  YORK 
Y.  CROWELL  & 
PUBLISHERS 


COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,  1896, 
Bv  HALPH  WALDO  TRINE. 


COPYRIGHT,  1899, 
BY  RALPH  WALDO  TRINE. 


PREFACE. 

There  are  two  reasons  the  author  has  for  putting  forth  this 
little  volume :  he  feels  that  the  time  is,  as  it  always  has  been, 
ripe  for  it;  and  second,  his  soul  has  ever  longed  to  express 
itself  upon  this  endless  theme*  It  therefore  comes  from  the 
heart  —  the  basis  of  his  belief  that  it  will  reach  the  heart. 

R.  W.  T. 
Boston,  Massachusetts. 


PREFACE   TO  FIFTEENTH  THOUSAND. 

It  is  impossible  for  one  in  a  single  volume,  or  perhaps  in  a 
number  of  volumes,  to  reach  the  exact  needs  of  every  reader. 

It  is  always  a  source  of  gratitude,  as  well  as  of  inspiration 
for  better  and  more  earnest  work  in  the  future,  for  one  to 
know  that  the  truths  that  have  been  and  that  are  so  valuable 
and  so  vital  to  him  he  has  succeeded  in  presenting  in  a 
manner  such  that  they  prove  likewise  of  value  to  others. 
The  author  is  most  grateful  for  the  good,  kind  words  that 
have  come  so  generously  from  so  many  hundreds  of  readers 
of  this  simple  little  volume  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  He 
is  also  grateful  to  that  large  company  of  people  who  have 
been  so  good  as  to  put  the  book  into  the  hands  of  so  many 
others. 

And  as  the  days  have  passed,  he  has  not  been  unmindful  of 
the  fact  that  he  might  make  it,  when  the  time  came,  of  still 


VI  PREFACE 

greater  value  to  many.  In  addition  to  a  general  revision  of 
the  book,  some  four  or  five  questions  that  seemed  to  be  most 
frequently  asked  he  has  endeavored  to  point  answer  to  in  an 
added  part  of  some  thirty  pages,  under  the  general  title, 
44  Character-building  Thought  Power/*  The  volume  enters 
therefore  upon  its  fifteenth  thousand  better  able,  possibly,  to 
come  a  little  more  directly  in  touch  with  the  every-day  needs 
of  those  who  will  be  sufficiently  interested  to  read  it. 

R.  W.  T. 

Boston,  Massachusetts. 
July  25,  1899. 


CONTENTS. 


PART  I. 
THE  PRINCIPLE n 

PART  II. 
THE  APPLICATION 39 

PART  III. 
THE  UNFOLDMENT  .     » 67 

PART  IV. 
THE  AWAKENING in 

PART  V. 
THE  INCOMING 135 

PART  VI. 
CHARACTER-BUILDING  THOUGHT  POWER    .     .     .     195 


PART   I. 
THE    PRINCIPLE 


WHAT   ALL   THE   WORLD'S 
A-SEEKING. 


THE   PRINCIPLE. 

Would  you  find  that  wonderful  life  supernal, 
That  life  so  abounding,  so  rich,  and  so  free  ? 

Seek  then  the  laws  of  the  Spirit  Eternal, 
With  them  bring  your  life  into  harmony. 

4 

How  can  I  make  life  yield  its  fullest  and 
best?  How  can  I  know  the  true  secret  of 
power?  How  can  I  attain  to  a  true  and  last- 
ing greatness?  How  can  I  fill  the  whole  of 
life  with  a  happiness,  a  peace,  a  joy,  a  satis- 
faction that  is  ever  rich  and  abiding,  that  ever 
increases,  never  diminishes,  that  imparts  to  it 
a  sparkle  that  never  loses  its  lustre,  that  ever 
fascinates,  never  wearies  ? 

No  questions,  perhaps,  in  this  form  or  in  that 
have  been  asked  oftener  than  these.  Millions 
in  the  past  have  asked  them.  Millions  are 
asking  them  to-day.  They  will  be  asked  by 
millions  yet  unborn.  Is  there  an  answer,  a 
true  and  safe  one  for  the  millions  who  are 


12         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

eagerly  and  longingly  seeking  for  it  in  all 
parts  of  the  world  to-day,  and  for  the  millions 
yet  unborn  who  will  as  eagerly  strive  to  find  it 
as  the  years  come  and  go  ?  Are  you  interested, 
my  dear  reader,  in  the  answer?  The  fact  that 
you  have  read  even  thus  far  in  this  little  vol- 
ume whose  title  has  led  you  to  take  it  up, 
indicates  that  you  are, —  that  you  are  but  one 
of  the  innumerable  company  already  men- 
tioned. 

It  is  but  another  way  of  asking  that  great 
question  that  has  come  through  all  the  ages — • 
What  is  the  summum  bonum  in  life?  and  there 
have  been  countless  numbers  who  gladly  would 
have  given  all  they  possessed  to  have  had  the 
true  and  satisfactory  answer.  Can  we  then 
find  this  answer,  true  and  satisfactory  to  our- 
selves, surely  the  brief  time  spent  together 
must  be  counted  as  the  most  precious  and  val- 
uable of  life  itself.  There  is  an  answer:  fol- 
low closely,  and  that  our  findings  may  be  the 
more  conclusive,  take  issue  with  me  at  every 
step  if  you  choose,  but  tell  me  finally  if  it  is 
not  true  and  satisfactory. 

There  is  one  great,  one  simple  principle, 
which,  if  firmly  laid  hold  of,  and  if  made  the 
great  central  principle  in  one's  life,  around 
which  all  others  properly  arrange  and  subordi- 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING         13 

nate  themselves,  will  make  that  life  a  grand 
success,  truly  great  and  genuinely  happy, 
loved  and  blessed  by  all  in  just  the  degree 
in  which  it  is  laid  hold  upon, —  a  principle 
which,  if  universally  made  thus,  would  won- 
derfully change  this  old  world  in  which  we 
live, —  ay,  that  would  transform  it  almost  in  a 
night,  and  it  is  for  its  coming  that  the  world 
has  long  been  waiting;  tha',  in  place  of  the 
gloom  and  despair  in  almost  countless  numbers 
of  lives  would  bring  light  and  hope  and  con- 
tentment, and  no  longer  would  it  be  said  as 
so  truly  to-day,  that  "man's  inhumanity  to 
man  makes  countless  thousands  mourn"  ;  that 
would  bring  to  the  life  of  the  fashionable  so- 
ciety woman,  now  spending  her  days  and  her 
nights  in  seeking  for  nothing  but  her  own 
pleasure,  such  a  flood  of  true  and  genuine 
pleasure  and  happiness  and  satisfaction  as 
would  make  the  poor,  weak  something  she 
calls  by  this  name  so  pale  before  it,  that  she 
would  quickly  see  that  she  hasn't  known  wh?* 
true  pleasure  is,  and  that  what  she  has  been 
mistaking  for  the  real,  the  genuine,  is  but  as  a 
baser  metal  compared  to  the  purest  of  gold,  as 
a  bit  of  cut  glass  compared  to  the  rarest  of  dia- 
monds, and  that  would  make  this  same  woman 
who  scarcely  deigns  to  notice  the  poor  woman 


14         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

who  washes  her  front  steps,  but  who,  were  the 
facts  known,  may  be  living  a  much  grander 
life,  and  consequently  of  much  more  value  to 
the  world  than  she  herself,  see  that  this  poor 
woman  is  after  all  her  sister,  because  child  of 
the  same  Father;  and  that  would  make  the 
humble  life  of  this  same  poor  woman  beautiful 
and  happy  and  sweet  in  its  humility;  that 
would  give  us  a  nation  of  statesmen  in  place 
of,  with  now  and  then  an  exception,  a  nation 
of  politicians,  each  one  bent  upon  his  own  per- 
sonal aggrandizement  at  the  expense  of  the 
general  good ;  that  would  go  far,  ay,  very  far 
toward  solving  our  great  and  hard-pressing 
social  problems  with  which  we  are  already  face 
to  face ;  that,  in  short,  would  make  each  man 
a  prince  among  men,  and  each  woman  a  queen 
among  women. 

I  have  seen  the  supreme  happiness  in  lives 
where  this  principle  has  been  caught  and  laid 
hold  of,  some,  lives  that  seemed  not  to  have 
much  in  them  before,  but  which  under  its 
wonderful  influences  have  been  so  transformed 
and  so  beautified,  that  have  been  made  so  sweet 
and  so  strong,  so  useful  and  so  precious,  that 
each  day  seems  to  them  all  too  short,  the  same 
time  that  before,  when  they  could  scarcely  see 
what  was  in  life  to  make  it  worth  the  living, 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING         I  $ 

dragged  wearily  along.  So  there  are  count- 
less numbers  of  people  in  the  world  with  lives 
that  seem  not  to  have  much  in  them,  among 
the  wealthy  classes  and  among  the  poorer,  who 
might  under  the  influence  of  this  great,  this 
simple  principle,  make  them  so  precious,  so 
rich,  and  so  happy  that  time  would  seem  only 
too  short,  and  they  would  wonder  why  they 
have  been  so  long  running  on  the  wrong  track, 
for  it  is  true  that  much  the  larger  portion  of 
the  world  to-day  is  on  the  wrong  track  in  the 
pursuit  of  happiness ;  but  almost  all  are  there, 
let  it  be  said,  not  through  choice,  but  by  rea- 
son of  not  knowing  the  right,  the  true  one. 

The  fact  that  really  great,  true,  and  happy 
lives  have  been  lived  in  the  past  and  are  being 
lived  to-day  gives  us  our  starting-point.  Time 
and  again  I  have  examined  such  lives  in  a  most 
careful  endeavor  to  find  what  has  made  them 
so,  and  have  found  that  in  each  and  every  in- 
dividual case  this  that  we  have  now  come  to 
has  been  the  great  central  principle  upon  which 
they  have  been  built.  I  have  also  found  that 
in  numbers  of  lives  where  it  has  not  been,  but 
where  almost  every  effort  apart  from  it  has 
been  made  to  make  them  great,  true,  and 
happy,  they  have  not  been  so;  and  also  that 
no  life  built  upon  it  in  sufficient  degree, 


1 6         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

other  things  being  equal,  has  failed  in  being 
thus. 

Let  us  then  to  the  answer,  examine  it 
closely,  see  if  it  will  stand  every  test,  if  it  is 
the  true  one,  and  if  so,  rejoice  that  we  have 
found  it,  lay  hold  of  it,  build  upon  it,  tell 
others  of  it.  The  last  four  words  have  already 
entered  us  at  the  open  door.  The  idea  has 
prevailed  in  the  past,  and  this  idea  has  domi- 
nated the  world,  that  self  is  the  great  concern, 
—  that  if  one  would  find  success,  greatness, 
happiness,  he  must  give  all  attention  to  self, 
and  to  self  alone.  This  has  been  the  great  mis- 
take, this  the  fatal  error,  this  the  direct  oppo- 
site of  the  right,  the  true  as  set  forth  in  the 
great  immutable  law  that  —  we  find  our  own 
lives  in  losing  them  in  the  service  of  others,  in 
longer  form  —  the  more  of  our  lives  we  give 
to  others,  the  fuller  and  the  richer,  the  greatei 
and  the  grander,  the  more  beautiful  and  the 
more  happy  our  own  lives  become.  It  is  as 
that  great  and  sweet  soul  who  when  with  us 
lived  at  Concord  said, —  that  generous  giving 
or  losing  of  your  life  which  saves  it 

This  is  an  expression  of  one  of  the  greatest 
truths,  of  one  of  the  greatest  principles  of 
practical  ethics  the  world  has  thus  far  seen. 
In  a  single  word,  it  is  service, —  not  self,  but 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING          1 7 

the  other  self.  We  shall  soon  see,  however, 
that  our  love,  our  service,  our  helpfulness  to 
others,  invariably  comes  back  to  us,  intensified 
sometimes  a  hundred  or  a  thousand  or  a  thou- 
sand thousand  fold,  and  this  by  a  great,  immu- 
table law. 

The  Master  Teacher,  he  who  so  many  years 
ago  in  that  far-away  Eastern  land,  now  in  the 
hill  country,  now  in  the  lake  country,  as  the 
people  gathered  round  him,  taught  them  those 
great,  high-born,  and  tender  truths  of  human 
life  and  destiny,  the  Christ  Jesus,  said  identi- 
cally this  when  he  said  and  so  continually  re- 
peated,—  "He  that  is  greatest  among  you  shall 
be  your  servant  "  ;  and  his  whole  life  was  but 
an  embodiment  of  this  principle  or  truth,  with 
the  result  that  the  greatest  name  in  the  world 
to-day  is  his, —  the  name  of  him  who  as  his 
life-work,  healed  the  sick;  clothed  the  naked; 
bound  up  the  broken-hearted ;  sustained  the 
weak,  the  faltering;  befriended  and  aided 
the  poor,  the  needy;  condemned  the  proud,  the 
vain,  the  selfish ;  and  through  it  all  taught  the 
people  to  love  justice  and  mercy  and  service, 
to  live  in  their  higher,  their  diviner  selves, — 
in  brief,  to  live  his  life,  the  Christ-life,  and 
who  has  helped  in  making  it  possible  for  this 
greatest  principle  of  practical  ethics  the  world 


1 8          WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

has  thus  far  seen  to  be  enunciated,  to  be  laid 
hold  of,  to  be  lived  by  to-day.  "He  that  is 
greatest  among  you  shall  be  your  servant,"  or, 
he  who  would  be  truly  great  and  recognized  as 
such  must  find  it  in  the  capacity  of  a  servant. 

And  what,  let  us  ask,  is  a  servant?  One 
who  renders  service.  To  himself?  Never. 
Toothers?  Alway.  Freed  of  its  associations 
and  looked  at  in  the  light  of  its  right  and  true 
meaning,  than  the  word  "  servant  "  there  is  no 
greater  in  the  language;  and  in  this  right  use 
of  the  term,  as  we  shall  soon  see,  every  life  that 
has  been  really  true,  great,  and  happy  has  been 
that  of  a  servant,  and  apart  from  this  no  such 
life  ever  has  been  or  ever  can  be  lived. 

O  you  who  are  seeking  for  power,  for  place, 
for  happiness,  for  contentment  in  the  ordi- 
nary way,  tarry  for  a  moment,  see  that  you 
are  on  the  wrong  track,  grasp  this  great  eter- 
nal truth,  lay  hold  of  it,  and  you  will  see  that 
your  advance  along  this  very  line  will  be  man- 
ifold times  more  rapid.  Are  you  seeking, 
then,  to  make  for  yourself  a  name?  Unless 
you  grasp  this  mighty  truth  and  make  your 
life  accordingly,  as  the  great  clock  of  time 
ticks  on  and  all  things  come  to  their  proper 
level  according  to  their  merits,  as  all  invari- 
ably, inevitably  do,  you  will  indeed  be  some- 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING          19 

what  surprised  to  find  how  low,  how  very  low 
your  level  is.  Your  name  and  your  memory 
will  be  forgotten  long  ere  the  minute-hand 
has  passed  even  a  single  time  across  the  great 
dial;  while  your  fellow-man  who  has  grasped 
this  simple  but  this  great  and  all-necessary 
truth,  and  who  accordingly  is  forgetting  him- 
self in  the  service  of  others,  who  is  making 
his  life  a  part  of  a  hundred  or  a  thousand  or  a 
million  lives,  thus  inimitably  intensifying  or 
multiplying  his  own,  instead  of  living  as  you 
in  what  otherwise  would  be  his  own  little, 
diminutive  self,  will  find  himself  ascending 
higher  and  higher  until  he  stands  as  one 
among  the  few,  and  will  find  a  peace,  a  happi- 
ness, a  satisfaction  so  rich  and  so  beautiful, 
compared  to  which  yours  will  be  but  a  poor 
miserable  something,  and  whose  name  and 
memory  when  his  life  here  is  finished,  will 
live  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  his  fellow-men 
and  of  mankind  fixed  and  eternal  as  the  stars. 
A  corollary  of  the  great  principle  already 
enunciated  might  be  formulated  thus:  there 
is  no  such  thing  as  finding-  true  happiness  by 
searching  for  it  directly.  It  must  come,  if  it 
come  at  all,  indirectly,  or  by  the  service,  the 
love,  and  the  happiness  we  give  to  others.  So, 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  finding  true  greatness 


2O         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKIN<2 

by  searching  for  it  directly.  It  always,  without 
a  single  exception  has  come  indirectly  in  this 
same  way,  and  it  is  not  at  all  probable  that 
this  great  eternal  law  is  going  to  be  changed 
to  suit  any  particular  case  or  cases.  Then 
recognize  it,  put  your  life  into  harmony  with 
it,  and  reap  the  rewards  of  its  observance,  or 
fail  to  recognize  it  and  pay  the  penalty  ac- 
cordingly ;  for  the  law  itself  will  remain  un- 
changed. 

The  men  and  women  whose  names  we  honor 
and  celebrate  are  invariably  those  with  lives 
founded  primarily  upon  this  great  law.  Note 
if  you  will,  every  truly  great  life  in  the  world's 
history,  among  those  living  and  among  the 
so-called  dead,  and  tell  me  if  in  every  case 
that  life  is  not  a  life  spent  in  the  service  of 
others,  either  directly,  or  indirectly  as  when 
we  say  —  he  served  his  country.  Whenever 
one  seeks  for  reputation,  for  fame,  for  honor, 
for  happiness  directly  and  for  his  own  sake, 
then  that  which  is  true  and  genuine  never 
comes,  at  least  to  any  degree  worthy  the  name. 
It  may  seem  to  for  a  time,  but  a  great  law  says 
that  such  an  one  gets  so  far  and  no  farther. 
Sooner  or  later,  generally  sooner,  there  comes 
an  end. 

Human   nature   seems  to  run   in    this   way, 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING         2 1 

seems  to  be  governed  by  a  great  paradoxical 
law  which  says,  that  whenever  a  man  self- 
centred,  thinking  of,  living  for  and  in  himself, 
is  very  desirous  for  place,  for  preferment,  for 
honor,  the  very  fact  of  his  being  thus  is  of 
itself  a  sufficient  indicator  that  he  is  too 
small  to  have  them,  and  mankind  refuses  to 
accord  them.  While  the  one  who  forgets 
self,  and  who,  losing  sight  of  these  things, 
makes  it  his  chief  aim  in  life  to  help,  to  aid, 
and  to  serve  others,  by  this  very  fact  makes 
it  known  that  he  is  large  enough,  is  great 
enough  to  have  them,  and  his  fellow-men  in- 
stinctively bestow  them  upon  him.  This  is 
a  great  law  which  many  would  profit  by  to 
recognize.  That  it  is  true  is  attested  by  the 
fact  that  the  praise  of  mankind  instinctively 
and  universally  goes  out  to  a  hero;  but  who 
ever  heard  of  a  hero  who  became  such  by  doing 
something  for  himself?  Always  something  he 
has  done  for  others.  By  the  fact  that  monu- 
ments and  statues  are  gratefully  erected  to  the 
memory  of  those  who  have  helped  and  served 
their  fellow-men,  not  to  those  who  have  lived 
to  themselves  alone. 

I  have  seen  many  monuments  and  statues 
erected  to  the  memories  of  philanthropists,  but 
I  never  yet  have  seen  one  erected  to  a  miser; 


22          WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

many  to  generous-hearted,  noble-hearted  men, 
but  never  yet  to  one  whose  whole  life  was 
that  of  a  sharp  bargain-driver,  and  who  clung 
with  a  sort  of  semi-idiotic  grasp  to  all  that 
came  thus  into  his  temporary  possession.  I 
have  seen  many  erected  to  statesmen, —  states- 
men,—  but  never  one  to  mere  politicians; 
many  to  true  orators,  but  never  to  mere  dema- 
gogues; many  to  soldiers  and  leaders,  but 
never  to  men  who  were  not  willing,  when  nec- 
essary, to  risk  all  in  the  service  of  their 
country.  No,  you  will  find  that  the  world's 
monuments  and  statues  have  been  erected  and 
its  praises  and  honors  have  gone  out  to  those 
who  were  large  and  great  enough  to  forget 
themselves  in  the  service  of  others,  who  have 
been  servants,  true  servants  of  mankind,  who 
have  been  true  to  the  great  law  that  we  find 
our  own  lives  in  losing  them  in  the  service 
of  others.  Not  honor  for  themselves,  but 
service  for  others.  But  notice  the  strange, 
wonderful,  beautiful  transformation  as  it  re- 
turns upon  itself,  —  honor  for  themselves,  be- 
cause of  service  to  others. 

It  would  be  a  matter  of  exceeding  great 
interest  to  verify  the  truth  of  what  has  just 
been  said  by  looking  at  a  number  of  those  who 
are  regarded  as  the  world's  great  sons  and 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING        2$ 

daughters, —  those  to  whom  its  honors,  its 
praises,  its  homage  go  out, —  to  see  why  it  is, 
upon  what  their  lives  have  been  founded  that 
they  have  become  so  great  and  are  so  honored. 
Of  all  this  glorious  company  that  would  come 
up,  we  must  be  contented  to  look  at  but  one 
or  two. 

There  comes  to  my  mind  the  name  and 
figure  of  him  the  celebration  of  whose  birth- 
day I  predict  will  soon  be  made  a  national 
holiday, —  he  than  whom  there  is  no  greater, 
whose  praises  are  sung  and  whose  name  and 
memory  are  honored  and  blessed  by  millions 
in  all  parts  of  the  world  to-day,  and  will  be 
by  millions  yet  unborn,  our  beloved  and 
sainted  Lincoln.  And  then  I  ask,  Why  is 
this?  Why  is  this?  One  sentence  of  his 
tells  us  what  to  look  to  for  the  answer.  Dur- 
ing that  famous  series  of  public  debates  in 
Illinois  with  Stephen  A.  Douglas  in  1858, 
speaking  at  Freeport,  Mr.  Douglas  at  one 
place  said,  "I  care  not  whether  slavery  in  the 
Territories  be  voted  up^or  whether  it  be  voted 
down,  it  makes  not  a  particle  of  difference 
with  me."  Mr.  Lincoln,  speaking  from  the 
fulness  of  his  great  and  royal  heart,  in  reply 
said,  with  emotion,  "I  am  sorry  to  perceive 
that  my  friend  Judge  Douglas  is  so  consti- 


24         WHAT   ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

tuted  that  he  does  not  feel  the  lash  the  least 
bit  when  it  is  laid  upon  another  man's  back." 
Thoughts  upon  self?  Not  for  a  moment. 
Upon  others?  Always.  He  at  once  recog- 
nized in  those  black  men  four  million  brothers 
for  whom  he  had  a  service  to  perform. 

It  would  seem  almost  grotesque  to  use  the 
word  self-ish  in  connection  with  this  great 
name.  He  very  early,  and  when  still  in  a 
very  humble  and  lowly  station  in  life,  either 
consciously  or  unconsciously  grasped  this 
great  truth,  and  in  making  the  great  underly- 
ing principle  of  his  life  to  serve,  to  help  his 
fellow-men,  he  adopted  just  that  course  that 
has  made  him  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  sons 
of  men,  our  royal-hearted  elder  brother.  He 
never  spent  time  in  asking  what  he  could  do 
to  attain  to  greatness,  to  popularity,  to  power, 
what  to  perpetuate  his  name  and  memory.  He 
simply  asked  how  he  could  help,  how  he  could 
be  of  service  to  his  fellow-men,  and  continu- 
ally did  all  his  hands  found  to  do. 

He  simply  put  his  life  into  harmony  with 
this  great  principle;  and  in  so  doing  he 
adopted  the  best  means,  —  the  only  means  to 
secure  that  which  countless  numbers  seek  and 
strive  for  directly,  and  every  time  so  woefully 
fail  in  finding. 


WHAT    ALL  .THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING         25 

There  comes  to  my  mind  in  this  same  con- 
nection another  princely  soul,  one  who  loved 
all  the  world,  one  whom  all  the  world  loves 
and  delights  to  honor.  There  comes  to  mind 
also  a  little  incident  that  will  furnish  an  in- 
sight into  the  reason  of  it  all.  On  an  after- 
noon not  long  ago,  Mrs.  Henry  Ward  Beecher 
was  telling  me  of  some  of  the  characteristics 
of  Brooklyn's  great  preacher.  While  she  was 
yet  speaking  of  some  of  those  along  the  very 
lines  we  are  considering,  an  old  gentleman,  a 
neighbor,  came  into  the  room  bearing  in  his 
hands  something  he  had  brought  from  Mr. 
Beecher' s  grave.  It  was  the  day  next  follow- 
ing Decoration  Day.  His  story  was  this : 
As  the  great  procession  was  moving  into  the 
cemetery  with  its  bands  of  rich  music,  with 
its  carriages  laden  with  sweet  and  fragrant 
flowers,  with  its  waving  flags,  beautiful  in  the 
sunlight,  a  poor  and  humble-looking  woman 
with  two  companions,  by  her  apparent  nervous- 
ness attracted  the  attention  of  the  gate-keeper. 
He  kept  her  in  view  for  a  little  while,  and 
presently  saw  her  as  she  gave  something  she 
had  partially  concealed  to  one  of  her  compan- 
ions, who,  leaving  the  procession,  went  over 
to  the  grave  of  Mr.  Beecher,  and  tenderly  laid 
it  thexe.  Reverently  she  stood  for  a  moment 


26         WHAT   ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

or  two,  and  then,  retracing  her  steps,  joined 
her  two  companions,  who  with  bowed  heads 
were  waiting  by  the  wayside. 
.  It  was  this  that  the  old  gentleman  had 
brought, —  a  gold  frame,  and  in  it  a  poem  cut 
from  a  volume,  a  singularly  beautiful  poem 
through  which  was  breathed  the  spirit  of  love 
and  service  and  self-devotion  to  the  good  and 
the  needs  of  others.  At  one  or  two  places 
where  it  fitted,  the  pen  had  been  drawn  across 
a  word  and  Mr.  Beecher's  name  inserted, 
which  served  to  give  it  a  still  more  real, 
vivid,  and  tender  meaning.  At  the  bottom 
this  only  was  written,  "From  a  poor  Hebrew 
woman  to  the  immortal  friend  of  the  He- 
brews." There  was  no  name,  but  this  was 
sufficient  to  tell  the  whole  story.  Some  poor, 
humble  woman,  but  one  out  of  a  mighty  num- 
ber whom  he  had  at  some  time  befriended 
or  helped  or  cheered,  whose  burden  he  had 
helped  to  carry,  and  soon  perhaps  had  forgot- 
ten all  about  it.  When  we  remember  that 
this  was  his  life,  is  it  at  all  necessary  to  seek 
farther  why  all  the  world  delights  to  honor 
this,  another  royal-hearted  elder  brother?  and, 
as  we  think  of  this  simple,  beautiful,  and 
touching  incident,  now  true  and  living  be 
comes  the  thought  in  the  old,  old  lines!  — 


WHAT   ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING         2? 

"  Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters,  waft  it  on  with  pray- 
ing breath, 

In  some  distant,  doubtful  moment  it  may  save  a  soul 
from  death. 

When  you  sleep  in  solemn  silence,  'neath  the  morn 
and  evening  dew, 

Stranger  hands  which  you  have  strengthened  may 
strew  lilies  over  you." 

Our  good  friend,  Henry  Drummond,  in  one 
of  his  most  beautiful  and  valuable  little 
works  says  —  and  how  admirably  and  how 
truly!  —  that  "love  is  the  greatest  thing  in  the 
world."  Have  you  this  greatest  thing?  Yes. 
How,  then,  does  it  manifest  itself?  In  kind- 
liness, in  helpfulness,  in  service,  to  those 
around  you  ?  If  so,  well  and  good,  you  have 
it.  If  not,  then  I  suspect  that  what  you  have 
been  calling  love  is  something  else;  and  you 
have  indeed  been  greatly  fooled.  In  fact,  I 
am  sure  it  is;  for  if  it  does  not  manifest  itself 
in  this  way,  it  cannot  be  true  love,  for  this  is 
the  one  grand  and  never-failing  test.  Love  is 
the  statics,  helpfulness  and  service  the  dy- 
namics, the  former  necessary  to  the  latter, 
but  the  latter  the  more  powerful,  as  action  is 
always  more  powerful  than  potentiality;  and, 
were  it  not  for  the  dynamics,  the  statics  might 
as  well  not  be.  Helpfulness,  kindliness,  ser- 
vice, is  but  the  expression  of  love.  It  is  love 


28         WHAT   ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

in  action;  and  unless  love  thus  manifests  itself 
in  action,  it  is  an  indication  that  it  is  of  that 
weak  and  sickly  nature  that  needs  exercise, 
growth,  and  development,  that  it  may  grow  and 
become  strong,  healthy,  vigorous,  and  true, 
instead  of  remaining  a  little,  weak,  indefinite, 
sentimental  something  or  nothing. 

It  was  but  yesterday  that  I  heard  one  of  the 
world's  greatest  thinkers  and  speakers,  one  of 
our  keenest  observers  of  human  affairs,  state 
as  his  opinion  that  selfishness  is  the  root  of 
all  evil.  Now,  if  it  is  possible  for  any  one 
thing  to  be  the  root  of  all  evil,  then  I  think 
there  is  a  world  of  truth  in  the  statement. 
But,  leaving  out  of  account  for  the  present  pur- 
pose whether  it  is  true  or  not,  it  certainly  is 
true  that  he  who  can't  get  beyond  self  robs 
his  life  of  its  chief  charms,  and  more,  defeats 
the  very  ends  he  has  in  view.  It  is  a  well- 
known  law  in  the  natural  world  about  us  that 
whatever  hasn't  use,  that  whatever  serves  no 
purpose,  shrivels  up.  So  it  is  a  law  of  our  own 
being  that  he  who  makes  himself  of  no  use,  of 
no  service  to  the  great  body  of  mankind,  who 
is  concerned  only  with  his  own  small  self, 
finds  that  self,  small  as  it  is,  growing  smaller 
and  smaller,  and  those  finer  and  better  and 
grander  qualities  of  his  nature,  those  that  give 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING         2Q 

the  chief  charm  and  happiness  to  life,  shrivel- 
ling up.  Such  an  one  lives,  keeps  constant 
company  with  his  own  diminutive  and  stunted 
self;  while  he  who,  forgetting  self,  makes 
the  object  of  his  life  service,  helpfulness,  and 
kindliness  to  others,  finds  his  whole  nature 
growing  and  expanding,  himself  becoming 
large-hearted,  magnanimous,  kind,  loving, 
sympathetic,  joyous,  and  happy,  his  life  be- 
coming rich  and  beautiful.  For  instead  of  his 
own  little  life  alone  he  has  entered  into  and 
has  part  in  a  hundred,  a  thousand,  ay,  in 
countless  numbers  of  other  lives;  and  every 
success,  every  joy,  every  happiness  coming  to 
each  of  these  comes  as  such  to  him,  for  he  has 
a  part  in  each  and  all.  And  thus  it  is  that  one 
becomes  a  prince  among  men,  a  queen  among 
women. 

Why,  one  of  the  very  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  life  is,  so  much  love,  so  much  love  in 
return ;  so  much  love,  so  much  growth ;  so 
much  love,  so  much  power;  so  much  love,  so 
much  life, —  strong,  healthy,  rich,  exulting, 
and  abounding  life.  The  world  is  beginning 
to  realize  the  fact  that  love,  instead  of  being  a 
mere  indefinite  something,  is  a  vital  and  liv- 
ing force,  the  same  as  electricity  is  a  force, 
though  perhaps  of  a  different  nature.  The 


3O         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

same  great  fact  we  are  learning  in  regard  to 
thought, —  that  thoughts  are  things,  that 
thoughts  are  forces,  the  most  vital  and  power- 
ful in  the  universe,  that  they  have  form  and 
substance  and  power,  the  quality  of  the  power 
determined  as  it  is  by  the  quality  of  the  life 
in  whose  organism  the  thoughts  are  engen- 
dered; and  so,  when  a  thought  is  given  birth, 
it  does  not  end  there,  but  takes  form,  and 
as  a  force  it  goes  out  and  has  its  effect  upon 
other  minds  and  lives,  the  effect  being  deter- 
mined by  its  intensity  and  the  quality  of  the 
prevailing  emotions,  and  also  by  the  emotions 
dominating  the  person  at  the  time  the  thoughts 
are  engendered  and  given  form. 

Science,  while  demonstrating  the  great 
facts  it  is  to-day  demonstrating  in  connection 
with  the  mind  in  its  relations  to  and  effects 
upon  the  body,  is  also  finding  from  its  very 
laboratory  experiments  that  each  particular 
kind  of  thought  and  emotion  has  its  own  pe- 
culiar qualities,  and  hence  its  own  peculiar 
effects  or  influences;  and  these  it  is  classify- 
ing with  scientific  accuracy.  A  very  general 
classification  in  just  a  word  would  be — those 
of  a  higher  and  those  of  a  lower  nature. 

Some  of  the  chief  ones  among  those  of  the 
lower  nature  are  anger,  hatred,  jealousy. 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING         3 1 

malice,  rage.  Their  effect,  especially  when 
violent,  is  to  emit  a  poisonous  substance  into 
the  system,  or  rather,  to  set  up  a  corroding 
influence  which  transforms  the  healthy  and 
life-giving  secretions  of  the  body  into  the 
poisonous  and  the  destructive.  When  one, 
for  example,  is  dominated,  even  if  for  but  a 
moment  by  a  passion  of  anger  or  rage,  there 
is  set  up  in  the  system  what  might  be  justly 
termed  a  bodily  thunder-storm,  which  has  the 
effect  of  souring  or  corroding  the  normal  and 
healthy  secretions  of  the  body  and  making 
them  so  that  instead  of  life-giving  they  be- 
come poisonous.  This,  if  indulged  in  to  any 
extent,  sooner  or  later  induces  the  form  of 
disease  that  this  particular  state  of  mind  and 
emotion  or  passion  gives  birth  to;  and  it  in 
turn  becomes  chronic. 

'  We  shall  ultimately  find,  as  we  are  begin- 
ning to  so  rapidly  to--day,  that  practically  all 
disease  has  its  origin  in  perverted  mental 
states  or  emotions;  that  anger,  hatred,  fear, 
worry,  jealousy,  lust,  as  well  as  all  milder 
forms  of  perverted  mental  states  and  emotions, 
has  each  its  own  peculiar  poisoning  effects 
and  induces  each  its  own  peculiar  form  of 
disease,  for  all  life  is  from  within  out. 

Then  some  of  the  chief  ones  belonging  tc 


32          WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

the  other  class  —  mental  states  and  emotions 
of  the  higher  nature  —  are  love,  sympathy, 
benevolence,  kindliness,  and  good  cheer. 
JThese  are  the  natural  and  the  normal ;  and 
their  effect,  when  habitually  entertained,  is  to 
stimulate  a  vital,  healthy,  bounding,  purify- 
ing, and  life-giving  action,  the  exact  opposite 
of  the  others;  and  these  very  forces,  set  into 
a  bounding  activity,  will  in  time  counteract 
and  heal  the  disease-giving  effects  of  their 
opposites.  Their  effects  upon  the  countenance 
and  features  in  inducing  the  highest  beauty 
that  can  dwell  there  are  also  marked  and  all- 
powerful.  So  much,  then,  in  regard  to  the 
effects  of  one's  thought  forces  upon  the  self. 
A  word  more  in  regard  to  their  effects  upon 
others. 

v- Our  prevailing  thought  forces  determine 
the  mental  atmosphere  we  create  around  us, 
and  all  who  come  within  its  influence  are 
affected  in  one  way  or  another,  according  to 
the  quality  of  that  atmosphere;  and,  though 
they  may  not  always  get  the  exact  thoughts, 
they  nevertheless  get  the  effects  of  the  emo- 
tions dominating  the  originator  of  the  thoughts, 
and  hence  the  creator  of  this  particular  mental 
atmosphere,  and  the  more  sensitively  organized 
the  person  the  more  sensitive  he  or  she  is  to 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING         33 

this  atmosphere,  even  at  times  to  getting  the 
exact  and  very  thoughts.  So  even  in  this  the 
prophecy  is  beginning  to  be  fulfilled, —  there 
is  nothing  hid  that  shall  not  be  revealed. 
v  If  the  thought  forces  sent  out  by  any  partic- 
ular life  are  those  of  hatred  or  jealousy  or 
malice  or  fault-finding  or  criticism  or  scorn, 
these  same  thought  forces  are  aroused  and  sent 
back  from  others,  so  that  one  is  affected  not 
only  by  reason  of  the  unpleasantness  of  having 
such  thoughts  from  others,  but  they  also  in 
turn  affect  one's  own  mental  states,  and 
through  these  his  own  bodily  conditions,  so 
that,  so  far  as  even  the  welfare  of  self  is  con- 
cerned, the  indulgence  in  thoughts  and  emo- 
tions of  this  nature  are  most  expensive,  most 
detrimental,  most  destructive. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  thought  forces 
sent  out  be  those  of  love,  of  sympathy,  of 
kindliness,  of  cheer  and  good  will,  these 
same  forces  are  aroused  and  sent  back,  so  that 
their  pleasant,  ennobling,  warming,  and  life- 
giving  effects  one  feels  and  is  influenced  by; 
and  so  again,  so  far  even  as  the  welfare  of  self 
is  concerned,  there  is  nothing  more  desirable, 
more  valuable  and  life-giving.  There  comes 
from  others,  then,  exactly  what  one  sends  to 
and  hence  calls  forth  from  them. 


34         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

And  would  we  have  all  the  world  love  us, 
we  must  first  then  love  all  the  world^  —  merely 
a  great  scientific  fact.  Why  is  it  that  all 
people  instinctively  dislike  and  shun  the  little, 
the  mean,  the  self-centred,  the  selfish,  while 
all  the  world  instinctively,  irresistibly,  loves 
and  longs  for  the  company  of  the  great-hearted, 
the  tender-hearted,  the  loving,  the  magnani- 
mous, the  sympathetic,  the  brave?  The  mere 
answer  —  because  —  will  not  satisfy.  There 
is  a  deep,  scientific  reason  for  it,  either  this 
or  it  is  not  true. 

Much  has  been  said,  much  written,  in  re- 
gard to  what  some  have  been  pleased  to  call 
personal  magnetism,  but  which,  as  is  so  com- 
monly true  in  cases  of  this  kind,  is  even 
to-day  but  little  understood.  But  to  my  mind 
personal  magnetism  in  its  true  sense,  and  as 
distinguished  from  what  may  be  termed  a 
purely  animal  magnetism,  is  nothing  more  nor 
less  than  the  thought  forces  sent  out  by  a 
great-hearted,  tender-hearted,  magnanimous, 
loving,  sympathetic  man  or  woman ;  for,  let 
me  ask,  have  you  ever  known  of  any  great 
personal  magnetism  in  the  case  of  the  little, 
the  mean,  the  vindictive,  the  self-centred? 
Never,  I  venture  to  say,  but  always  in  the  case' 
of  the  other. 


WHAT    ALL   THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING  35 

y 

Why,  there  is  nothing  that  can  stand  before 
this  wonderful  transmuting  power  of  love.  So 
far  even  as  the  enemy  is  concerned,  I  may  not 
be  to  blame  if  I  have  an  enemy ;  but  I  am  to 
blame  if  I  keep  him  as  such,  especially  after 
I  know  of  this  wonderful  transmuting  power. 
Have  I  then  an  enemy,  I  will  refuse,  abso- 
lutely refuse,  to  recognize  him  as  such;  and 
instead  of  entertaining  the  thoughts  of  him 
that  he  entertains  of  me,  instead  of  sending 
him  like  thought  forces,  I  will  send  him  only 
thoughts  of  love,  of  sympathy,  of  brotherly 
kindness,  and  magnanimity.  But  a  short  time 
it  will  be  until  he  feels  these,  and  is  influ- 
enced by  them.  Then  in  addition  I  will 
watch  my  opportunity,  and  whenever  I  can,  I 
will  even  go  out  of  my  way  to  do  him  some 
little  kindnesses.  Before  these  forces  he  can- 
not stand,  and  by  and  by  I  shall  find  that  he 
who  to-day  is  my  bitterest  enemy  is  my 
warmest  friend  and  it  may  be  my  staunchest 
supporter.  No,  the  wise  man  is  he  who  by 
that  wonderful  alchemy  of  love  transmutes  the 
enemy  into  the  friend, —  transmutes  the  bit- 
terest enemy  into  the  warmest  friend  and  sup- 
porter. Certainly  this  is  what  the  Master 
meant  when  he  said:  "  Love  your  enemies,  do 
good  to  them  that  hate  you  and  despitefully 


36         WHAT   ALL    THE   WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

use  you :  thou  shalt  thereby  be  heaping  coals 
of  fire  upon  their  heads."  Ay,  thou  shalt  melt 
them :  before  this  force  they  cannot  stand. 
Thou  shalt  melt  them,  and  transmute  them 
into  friends. 

"  You  never  can  tell  what  your  thoughts  will  do 

In  bringing  you  hate  or  love ; 
For  thoughts  are  things,  and  their  airy  wings 

Are  swifter  than  carrier  doves. 
They  follow  the  law  of  the  universe, — 

Each  thing  must  create  its  kind ; 
And  they  speed  o'er  the  track  to  bring  you  back 

Whatever  went  out  from  your  mind." 

Yes,  science  to-day,  at  the  close  of  this 
nineteenth  century,  in  the  laboratory  is  dis- 
covering and  scientifically  demonstrating  the 
great,  immutable  laws  upon  which  the  inspired 
and  illuminated  ones  of  all  ages  have  based  all 
their  teachings,  those  who  by  ordering  their 
lives  according  to  the  higher  laws  of  their 
being  get  in  a  moment  of  time,  through  the 
direct  touch  of  inspiration,  what  it  takes  the 
physical  investigator  a  whole  lifetime  or  a 
series  of  investigators  a  series  of  lifetimes  to 
discover  and  demonstrate. 


PART  II. 
THE    APPLICATION 


THE    APPLICATION. 

Are  you  seeking  for  greatness,  O  brother  of  mine, 

As  the  full,  fleeting  seasons  and  years  glide  away  ? 
If  seeking  directly  and  for  self  alone, 

The  true  and  abiding  you  never  can  stay. 
But  all  self  forgetting,  know  well  the  law, 

It's  the  hero,  and  not  the  self-seeker,  who's  crowned. 
Then  go  lose  your  life  in  the  service  of  others, 

And,  lo  !  with  rare  greatness  and  glory  'twill  abound. 

Is  it  your  ambition  to  become  great  in  any 
particular  field,  to  attain  to  fame  and  honor, 
and  thereby  to  happiness  and  contentment? 
Is  it  your  ambition,  for  example,  to  become  a 
great  orator,  to  move  great  masses  of  men,  to 
receive  their  praise,  their  plaudits?  Then 
remember  that  there  never  has  been,  there  never 
will,  in  brief,  there  never  can  be  a  truly  great 
orator  without  a  great  purpose,  a  great  cause 
behind  him.  You  may  study  in  all  the  best 
schools  in  the  country,  the  best  universities 
and  the  best  schools  of  oratory.  You  may 
study  until  you  exhaust  all  these,  and  then 
seek  the  best  in  other  lands.  You  may  study 
thus  until  your  hair  is  beginning  to  change  its 


4O         WHAT   ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

color,  but  this  of  itself  will  never  make  you  a 
great  orator.  You  may  become  a  demagogue, 
and,  if  self-centred,  you  inevitably  will ;  for 
this  is  exactly  what  a  demagogue  is,  —  a  great 
demagogue,  if  you  please,  than  which  it  is  hard 
for  one  to  call  to  mind  a  more  contemptible  ani- 
mal, and  the  greater  the  more  contemptible. 
But  without  laying  hold  of  and  building  upon 
this  great  principle  you  never  can  become  a 
great  orator. 

Call  to  mind  the  greatest  in  the  world's 
history,  from  Demosthenes  —  Men  of  Athens, 
march  against  Philip,  your  country  and  your 
fellow-men  will  be  in  early  bondage  unless 
you  give  them  your  best  service  now  —  down 
to  our  own  Phillips  and  Gough, —  Wendell 
Phillips  against  the  traffic  in  human  blood, 
John  B.  Gough  against  a  slavery  among  his 
fellow-men  more  hard  and  galling  and  abject 
than  the  one  just  spoken  of ;  for  by  it  the  body 
merely  is  in  bondage,  the  mind  and  soul  are 
free,  while  in  this,  body,  soul,  and  mind  are 
enslaved.  So  you  can  easily  discover  the 
great  purpose,  the  great  cause  for  service,  be- 
hind each  and  every  one. 

The  man  who  can't  get  beyond  himself,  his 
own  aggrandizement  and  interests,  must  of 
necessity  be  small,  petty,  personal,  and  at  once 


WHAT   ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING        4! 

marks  his  own  limitations;  while  he  whose 
life  is  a  life  of  service  and  self-devotion  has 
no  limits,  for  he  thus  puts  himself  at  once  on 
the  side  of  the  Universal,  and  this  more  than 
all  else  combined  gives  a  tremendous  power 
in  oratory.  Such  a  one  can  mount  as  on  the 
wings  of  an  eagle,  and  Nature  herself  seems  to 
come  forth  and  give  a  great  soul  of  this  kind 
means  and  material  whereby  to  accomplish  his 
purposes,  whereby  the  great  universal  truths 
go  direct  to  the  minds  and  hearts  of  his 
hearers  to  mould  them,  to  move  them ;  for  the 
orator  is  he  who  moulds  the  minds  and  hearts 
of  his  hearers  in  the  great  moulds  of  universal 
and  eternal  truth,  and  then  moves  them  along 
a  definite  line  of  action,  not  he  who  merely 
speaks  pieces  to  them. 

How  thoroughly  Webster  recognized  this 
great  principle  is  admirably  shown  in  that 
brief  but  powerful  description  of  eloquence 
of  his;  let  us  pause  to  listen  to  a  sentence 
or  two:  "True  eloquence  indeed  does  not 
consist  in  speech.  .  .  .  Words  and  phrases 
may  be  marshalled  in  every  way,  but  they  can- 
not compass  it.  ...  Affected  passion,  intense 
expression,  the  pomp  of  declamation,  all  may 
aspire  to  it;  they  cannot  reach  it.  ...  The 
graces  taught  in  the  schools,  the  costly  orna- 


42        WHAT   ALL   THE   WORLD'S   A-SEEKING 

ments  and  studied  contrivances  of  speech, 
shock  and  disgust  men  when  their  own  lives 
and  the  fate  of  their  wives  and  their  children 
and  their  country  hang  on  the  decision  of  the 
hour.  Then  words  have  lost  their  power, 
rhetoric  is  vain,  and  all  elaborate  oratory  con- 
temptible. Even  genius  itself  then  feels  re- 
buked and  subdued,  as  in  the  presence  of 
higher  qualities.  Then  patriotism  is  elo- 
quent, then  self-devotion  is  eloquent.  The 
clear  conception,  outrunning  the  deductions  of 
logic,  the  high  purpose,  the  firm  resolve,  the 
dauntless  spirit  speaking  on  the  tongue,  beam- 
ing from  the  eye,  informing  every  feature  and 
urging  the  whole  man  onward,  right  onward  to 
his  object,— this,  this  is  eloquence."  And 
note  some  of  the  chief  words  he  has  used, — 
self-  devotion,  patriotism,  high  purpose.  The 
self-centred  man  can  never  know  these,  and 
much  less  can  he  make  use  of  them. 

True,  things  that  one  may  learn,  as  the  free- 
ing of  the  bodily  agents,  the  developing  of  the 
voice,  and  so  on,  that  all  may  become  the  true 
reporters  of  the  soul,  instead  of  limiting  or 
binding  it  down,  as  is  so  frequently  the  case  in 
public  speakers,  —  these  are  all  valuable,  ay, 
are  very  important  and  very  necessary,  unless 
one  is  content  to  live  below  his  highest  possi- 


WHAT   ALL   THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING        4$ 

bilities,  and  he  is  wise  who  recognizes  this 
fact;  but  these  in  themselves  are  but  as 
trifles  when  compared  to  those  greater,  more 
powerful,  and  all-essential  qualities. 

Is  it  your  ambition  to  become  a  great  states 
man  ?  Note  the  very  first  thing,  then,  the 
word  itself,  —  states-man,  a  man  who  gives  his 
life  to  the  service  of  the  State.  And  do  you 
not  recognize  the  fact  that,  when  one  says — a 
man  who  gives  his  life  to  the  service  of  the 
State,  it  is  but  another  way  of  saying  —  a 
man  who  gives  his  life  to  the  service  of  his 
fellow-men ;  for  what,  after  all,  is  any  coun- 
try, any  State,  in  the  true  sense  of  the  term, 
but  the  aggregate,  the  great  body  of  its  indi- 
vidual citizenship.  And  he  who  lives  for  and 
unto  himself,  who  puts  the  interests  of  his 
own  small  self  before  the  interests  of  the 
thousands,  can  never  become  a  states-man ;  for 
a  statesman  must  be  a  larger  man  than  this. 

Call  to  your  mind  the  greatest  of  the  world, 
among  those  living  and  among  the  so-called 
dead,  and  you  will  quickly  see  that  the  life  of 
each  and  every  one  has  been  built  upon  this 
great  principle,  and  that  all  have  been  great 
and  are  held  as  such  in  just  the  degree  in 
which  it  has  been.  Two  of  the  greatest  among 


44         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING 

Americans,  both  passed  away,  would  to-day 
and  even  more  as  time  goes  on,  be  counted 
still  greater,  had  they  been  a  little  larger  in 
one  aspect  of  their  natures, —  large  enough  to 
have  recognized  to  its  fullest  extent  the  eter- 
nal truth  and  importance  of  this  great  princi- 
ple, and  had  they  given  the  time  to  the  service 
of  their  fellow-men  that  was  spent  in  desiring 
the  Presidency  and  in  all  too  plainly  making 
it  known.  Having  gained  it  could  have  made 
them  no  greater,  and  having  so  plainly  shown 
their  eager  and  childish  desire  for  it  has  made 
them  less  great.  Of  the  many  thousands  of 
men  who  have  been  in  our  American  Congress 
since  its  beginning,  and  of  the  very,  very 
small  number  comparatively  that  you  are  able 
to  call  to  mind,  possibly  not  over  fifty,  which 
would  be  about  one  out  of  every  six  hundred 
or  more,  you  will  find  that  you  are  able  to  call 
to  mind  each  one  of  this  very  small  number  on 
account  of  his  standing  for  some  measure  or 
principle  that  would  to  the  highest  degree  in- 
crease the  human  welfare,  thus  truly  fulfilling 
the  great  office  of  a  statesman. 

The  one  great  trouble  with  our  country 
to-day  is  that  we  have  but  few  statesmen.  We 
have  a  great  swarm,  a  great  hoard  of  politi- 
cians; but  it  is  only  now  and  then  that  we  find 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING         45 

a  man  who  is  large  enough  truly  to  deserve 
the  name  —  statesman.  The  large  majority  in 
public  life  to-day  are  there  not  for  the  purpose 
of  serving  the  best  interests  of  those  whom  they 
are  supposed  to  represent,  but  they  are  there 
purely  for  self,  purely  for  self-aggrandizement 
in  this  form  or  in  that,  as  the  case  may  be. 

Especially  do  we  find  this  true  in  our  mu- 
nicipalities. In  some,  the  government  instead 
of  being  in  the  hands  of  those  who  would  make 
it  such  in  truth,  those  who  would  make  it 
serve  the  interests  it  is  designed  to  serve,  it 
is  in  the  hands  of  those  who  are  there  purely 
for  self,  little  whelps,  those  who  will  resort 
to  any  means  to  secure  their  ends,  at  times 
even  to  honorable  means,  should  they  seem  to 
serve  best  the  particular  purpose  in  hand.  We 
have  but  to  look  around  us  to  see  that  this  is 
true.  The  miserable,  filthy,  and  deplorable 
condition  of  affairs  the  Lexow  Committee  in 
its  investigations  not  so  long  ago  laid  bare  to 
public  gaze  had  its  root  in  what?  In  the  fact 
that  the  offices  in  that  great  municipality  have 
been  and  are  filled  by  men  who  are  there  to 
serve  in  the  highest  degree  the  public  welfare 
or  by  men  who  are  there  purely  for  self-aggran- 
dizement? But  let  us  pass  on.  This  de- 
graded condition  of  affairs  exists  not  only  in 


46         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

this  great  city,  but  there  are  scarcely  any  that 
are  free  from  it  entirely.  Matters  are  not 
always  to  continue  thus,  however.  The  Amer- 
ican people  will  learn  by  and  by  what  they 
ought  fully  to  realize  to-day  —  that  the  moment 
the  honest  people,  the  citizens,  in  distinction 
from  the  barnacles,  mass  themselves  and  stay 
massed,  the  notorious,  filthy  political  rings 
cannot  stand  before  them  for  a  period  of  even 
twenty-four  hours.  The  right,  the  good,  the 
true,  is  all-powerful,  and  will  inevitably  con- 
quer sooner  or  later  when  brought  to  the  front. 
Such  is  the  history  of  civilization. 

Let  our  public  offices  —  municipal,  state, 
and  federal  —  be  filled  with  men  who  are  in 
love  with  the  human  kind,  large  men,  men 
whose  lives  are  founded  upon  this  great  law 
of  service,  and  we  will  then  have  them  filled 
with  statesmen.  Never  let  this  glorious  word 
be  disgraced,  degraded,  by  applying  it  to  the 
little,  self-centred  whelps  who  are  unable  to 
get  beyond  the  politician  stage.  Then  enter 
public  life;  but  enter  it  as  a  man,  not  as  a  bar- 
nacle :  enter  it  as  a  statesman,  not  as  a  poli- 
tician. 

Is  it  your  ambition  to  become  a  great 
preacher,  or  better  yet,  with  the  same  mean- 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING         4/ 

ing,  a  great  teacher?  Then  remember  that 
the  greatest  of  the  world  have  been  those  who 
have  given  themselves  in  thorough  self-devo- 
tion and  service  to  their  fellow-men,  who  have 
given  themselves  so  thoroughly  to  all  they 
have  come  in  contact  with  that  there  has  been 
no  room  for  self.  They  have  not  oeen  seekers 
after  fame,  or  men  who  have  thought  so  much 
of  their  own  particular  dogmatic  ways  of 
thinking  as  to  spend  the  greater  part  of  their 
time  in  discussing  dogma,  creed,  theology,  in 
order,  as  is  so  generally  true  in  cases  of  this 
kind,  to  prove  that  the  ego  you  see  before  you 
is  right  in  his  particular  ways  of  thinking,  and 
that  his  chief  ambition  is  to  have  this  fact 
clearly  understood, —  an  abomination,  I  verily 
believe,  in  the  sight  of  God  himself,  whose 
children  in  the  mean  time  are  starving,  are 
dying  for  the  bread  of  life,  and  an  abomina- 
tion I  am  sure,  in  the  sight  of  the  great  ma- 
jority of  mankind.  Let  us  be  thankful,  how- 
ever, for  mankind  is  finding  less  use  for  such 
year  by  year,  and  the  time  will  soon  come 
when  they  will  scarcely  be  tolerated  at  all. 
It  is  to  a  very  great  extent  on  account  of 
men  of  this  kind,  especially  in  the  early  his- 
tory, that  the  true  spirit  of  religion,  of  Chris- 
tianity, has  been  lost  sight  of  in  the  mere  form. 


48          WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

The  basket  in  which  it  has  been  deemed  neces- 
sary to  carry  it  has  been  held  as  of  greater  im- 
port than  the  rare  and  divinely  beautiful  fruit 
itself.  The  true  spirit,  that  that  quickeneth 
and  giveth  life  and  power,  has  had  its  place 
taken  by  the  mere  letter,  that  that  alone 
blighteth  and  killeth.  Instead  of  running 
after  these  finely  spun,  man-made  theories, 
this  stuff, —  for  stuff  is  the  word,  —  this  that 
we  outgrow  once  every  few  years  in  our  march 
onward  and  upward,  and  then  stand  and  laugh 
as  we  look  back  to  think  that  such  ideas  have 
ever  been  held,  instead  of  this,  thinking  that 
thus  you  will  gain  power,  act  the  part  of  the 
wise  man,  and  go  each  day  into  the  silence, 
there  commune  with  the  Infinite,  there  dwell 
for  a  season  with  the  Infinite  Spirit  of  all  life, 
of  all  power;  for  you  can  get  true  power  in  no 
other  way. 

Instead  of  running  about  here  and  there  to 
have  your  cup  filled  at  these  little  stagnant 
pools,  dried  up  as  they  generally  are  by  the 
continual  rays  of  a  constantly  shining  egoistic 
sun,  go  direct  to  the  great  fountain-head,  and 
there  drink  of  the  water  of  life  that  is  poured 
out  freely  to  every  one  if  he  will  but  go  there 
for  it.  One  can't,  however,  send  and  have  it 
brought  by  another. 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING         49 

Go,  then,  into  the  silence,  even  if  it  be  but 
for  a  short  period, —  a  period  of  not  more  than 
a  quarter  or  a  half-hour  a  day,  —  and  there 
come  into  contact  with  the  Great  Source  of 
all  life,  of  all  power,  f  Send  out  your  earnest 
desires  for  wJtatsoever  you  will ;  and  whatso- 
ever you  will,  if  continually  watered  by  ex- 
pectation, will  sooner  or  later  come  to  you. 
All  knowledge,  all  truth,  all  power,  all  wis- 
dom, all  things  whatsoever,  are  yours,  if  you 
will  but  go  in  this  way  for  them.  It  has 
been  tried  times  without  number,  and  has 
never  yet  once  failed  where  the  motives  have 
been  high,  where  the  knowledge  of  the  re- 
sults beforehand  has  been  sufficiently  great. 
Within  a  fortnight  you  can  know  the  truth  of 
this  for  yourself  if  you  will  but  go  in  the 
right  way. 

All  the  truly  great  teachers  in  the  world's 
history  have  gotten  their  powers  in  this  way. 
You  remember  the  great  soul  who  left  us  not 
long  ago,  he  who  ministered  so  faithfully  at 
Trinity,  the  great  preacher  of  such  wonderful 
powers,  the  one  so  truly  inspired.  It  was  but 
an  evening  or  two  since,  when  in  conversation 
with  a  member  of  his  congregation,  we  were 
talking  in  regard  to  Phillips  Brooks.  She  was 
telling  of  his  beautiful  and  powerful  spirit. 


5O         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

and  said  that  they  were  all  continually  con- 
scious of  the  fact  that  he  had  a  power  they 
hadn't,  but  that  all  longed  for;  that  he  seemed 
to  have  a  great  secret  of  power  they  hadn't, 
but  that  they  often  tried  to  find.  She  contin- 
ued, and  in  the  very  next  sentence  went  on  to 
tell  of  a  fact, —  one  that  I  knew  full  well, — 
the  fact  that  during  a  certain  period  of  each 
day  he  took  himself  alone  into  a  little,  silent 
room,  he  fastened  the  door  behind  him,  and 
during  this  period  under  no  circumstances 
could  he  be  seen  by  any  one.  The  dear  lady 
knew  these  two  things,  she  knew  and  was 
influenced  by  his  great  soul  power,  she  also 
knew  of  his  going  thus  into  the  silence  each 
day;  but,  bless  her  heart,  it  had  never  once 
occurred  to  her  to  put  the  two  together. 

It  is  in  this  way  that  great  soul  power  is 
grown ;  and  the  men  of  this  great  power  are 
the  men  who  move  the  world,  the  men  who  do 
the  great  work  in  the  world  along  all  lines, 
and  against  whom  no  man,  no  power,  can  stand. 
Call  to  mind  a  number  of  the  world's  greatest 
preachers,  or,  using  again  the  better  term, 
teachers,  and  bear  in  mind  I  do  not  mean 
creed,  dogma,  form,  but  religious  teachers,— 
and  the  one  class  differs  from  the  other  even 
as  the  night  from  the  day, —  and  you  will  find 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING          5 1 

two  great  facts  in  the  life  of  each  and  all, — • 
great  soul  power,  grown  chiefly  by  much  time 
spent  in  the  silence,  and  the  fact  that  the  life 
of  each  has  been  built  upon  this  one  great  and 
all-powerful  principle  of  love,  service,  and 
helpfulness  for  all  mankind. 

Is  it  your  ambition  to  become  a  great 
writer?  Very  good.  But  remember  that  un- 
less you  have  something  to  give  to  the  world, 
something  you  feel  mankind  must  have,  some- 
thing that  will  aid  them  in  their  march  up- 
ward and  onward,  unless  you  have  some  ser- 
vice of  this  kind  to  render,  then  you  had  better 
be  wise,  and  not  take  up  the  pen ;  for,  if  your 
object  in  writing  is  merely  fame  or  money, 
the  number  of  your  readers  may  be  exceed- 
ingly small,  possibly  a  few  score  or  even  a  few 
dozen  may  be  a  large  estimate. 

What  an  author  writes  is,  after  all,  the  sum 
total  of  his  life,  his  habits,  his  characteristics, 
his  experiences,  his  purposes.  He  never  can 
write  more  than  he  himself  is.  He  can  never 
pass  beyond  his  limitations;  and  unless  he 
have  a  purpose  higher  than  writing  merely  for 
fame  or  self-aggrandizement,  he  thereby  marks 
his  own  limitations,  and  what  he  seeks  will 
never  come.  While  he  who  writes  for  the 


$2        WHAT    ALL    THE   WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

world,  because  he  feels  he  has  something  that 
it  needs  and  that  will  be  a  help  to  mankind,  if 
it  is  something  it  needs,  other  things  being 
equal,  that  which  the  other  man  seeks  for  di- 
rectly, and  so  never  finds,  will  come  to  him  in 
all  its  fulness.  This  is  the  way  it  comes, 
and  this  way  only.  Mankind  cares  nothing 
for  you  until  you  have  shown  that  you  care  for 
mankind. 

Note  this  statement  from  the  letter  of  a  now 
well-known  writer,  one  whose  very  first  book 
met  with  instant  success,  and  that  has  been 
followed  by  others  all  similarly  received.  She 
says,  "I  never  thought  of  writing  until  two 
years  and  a  half  ago,  when,  in  order  to  disbur- 
den my  mind  of  certain  thoughts  that  clamored 
for  utterance,  I  produced,"  etc.  In  the  light 
of  this  we  cannot  wonder  at  the  remarkable 
success  of  her  very  first  and  all  succeeding 
books.  She  had  something  she  felt  the  world 
needed  and  must  have;  and,  with  no  thought 
of  self,  of  fame,  or  of  money,  she  gave  it. 
The  world  agreed  with  her;  and,  as  she  was 
large  enough  to  seek  for  neither,  it  has  given 
her  both. 

Note  this  also:  "I  write  for  the  love  of 
writing,  not  for  money  or  reputation.  The 
former  I  have  without  exertion,  the  latter  is 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING          $3 

not  worth  a  pin's  point  in  the  general  econ- 
omy of  the  vast  universe.  Work  done  for  the 
love  of  working  brings  its  own  reward  far 
more  quickly  and  surely  than  work  done  for 
mere  payment."  This  is  but  the  formulated 
statement  of  what  all  the  world's  greatest 
writers  and  authors  have  said  or  would  say, — 
at  least  so  far  as  I  have  come  in  contact  with 
their  opinions  in  regard  to  it. 

So,  unless  you  are  large  enough  to  forget  self 
for  the  good,  for  the  service  of  mankind,  thus 
putting  yourself  on  the  side  of  the  universal 
and  making  it  possible  for  you  to  give  some- 
thing that  will  in  turn  of  itself  bring  fame, 
you  had  better  be  wise,  and  not  lift  the  pen  at 
all;  for  what  you  write  will  not  be  taken  up, 
or,  if  it  is,  will  soon  be  let  fall  again. 

One  of  our  most  charming  and  most  noted 
American  authors  says  in  regard  to  her  writ- 
ing, "I  press  my  soul  upon  the  white  paper  "  ; 
and  let  me  tell  you  the  reason  it  in  turn  makes 
its  impression  upon  so  many  thousands  of  other 
souls  is  because  hers  is  so  large,  so  tender, 
so  sympathetic,  so  loving,  that  others  cannot 
resist  the  impression,  living  as  she  does  not 
for  self,  but  for  the  service  of  others,  her  own 
life  thus  having  a  part  in  countless  numbers  of 
other  lives. 


54  WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

It  is  only  that  that  comes  from  the  heart 
that  can  reach  the  heart.  Take  from  their 
shelves  the  most  noted,  the  greatest  works  in 
any  library,  and  you  will  find  that  their  authors 
have  made  them  what  they  are  not  by  a  study 
of  the  rules  and  principles  of  rhetoric,  for  this 
of  itself  never  has  made  and  never  can  make 
a  great  writer.  They  are  what  they  are  be- 
cause the  author's  very  soul  has  been  fired  by 
some  great  truth  or  fact  that  the  world  has 
needed,  that  has  been  a  help  to  mankind. 
Large  souls  they  have  been,  souls  in  love  with 
all  the  human  kind. 

Is  it  your  ambition  to  become  a  great  actor? 
Then  remember  that  if  you  make  it  the  object 
of  your  life  to  play  to  influence  the  hearts,  the 
lives,  and  so  the  destinies  of  men,  this  same  great 
law  of  nature  that  operates  in  the  case  of  the 
orator  will  come  to  your  assistance,  will  aid 
you  in  your  growth  and  development,  and  will 
enable  you  to  attain  to  heights  you  could  never 
attain  to  or  even  dream  of,  in  case  you  play  for 
the  little  ego  you  otherwise  would  stand  for. 
In  the  latter  case  you  may  succeed  in  making 
a  third  or  a  fourth  rate  actor,  possibly  a  second 
rate ;  but  you  can  never  become  one  of  the 
world's  greatest,  and  the  chances  are  you  may 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING         55 

succeed  in  making  not  even  a  livelihood,  and 
thus  have  your  wonderment  satisfied  why  so 
many  who  try  fail. 

In  the  other  case,  other  things  being  equal, 
the  height  you  may  attain  to  is  unbounded, 
depending  upon  the  degree  you  are  able  to 
forget  yourself  in  influencing  the  minds  and 
the  souls,  and  thus  the  lives  and  the  destinies 
of  men. 

Is  it  your  ambition  to  become  a  great  singer? 
Then  remember  that  if  your  thought  is  only 
of  self,  you  may  never  sing  at  all,  unless,  in> 
deed,  you  enjoy  singing  to  yourself,  —  this,  or 
you  will  be  continually  anxious  as  to  the  size 
of  your  audience.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  you 
choose  this  field  of  work  because  here  you  can 
be  of  the  greatest  service  to  mankind,  if  your 
ambition  is  to  sing  to  the  hearts  and  the  lives 
of  men,  then  this  same  great  law  of  nature  will 
come  to  assist  you  in  your  growth  and  develop- 
ment and  efforts,  and  other  things  being 
equal,  instead  of  singing  to  yourself  or  being 
anxious  as  to  the  size  of  your  audience,  you 
will  seldom  find  time  for  the  first,  and  your 
anxiety  will  be  as  to  whether  the  place  has  an 
audience-chamber  large  enough  to  accommo- 
date even  a  small  portion  of  the  people  who 


56         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

will   seek  admittance.     You  remember  Jenny 
Lind. 

Is  it  your  ambition  to  become  a  fashionable 
society  woman,  this  and  nothing  more,  intent 
only  upon  your  own  pleasure  and  satisfaction  ? 
Then  stop  and  meditate,  if  only  for  a  moment ; 
for  if  this  is  the  case,  you  never  will,  ay,  you 
never  can  find  the  true  and  the  genuine,  for 
you  fail  to  recognize  the  great  law  that  there 
is  no  such  thing  as  finding  true  happiness  by 
searching  for  it  directly,  and  the  farther  on 
you  go  the  more  flimsy  and  shallow  and  unsat- 
isfying that  imitation  you  are  willing  to  accept 
for  the  genuine  will  become.  You  will 
thereby  rob  life  of  its  chief  charms,  defeat  the 
very  purpose  you  have  in  view.  And,  while 
you  are  at  this  moment  meditating,  oh  grasp 
the  truth  of  the  great  law  that  you  will  find 
your  own  life  only  in  losing  it  in  the  service 
of  others,  —  that  the  more  of  your  life  you  so 
give,  the  fuller  and  the  richer,  the  greater  and 
the  grander,  the  more  beautiful  and  the  more 
happy  your  own  life  will  become. 

And  with  your  abundant  means  and  oppor- 
tunities build  your  life  upon  this  great  law  of 
service,  and  experience  the  pleasure  of  growing 
into  that  full,  rich,  ever  increasing  and  satis- 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING          5/ 

fying  life  that  will  result,  and  that  will  make 
you  better  known,  more  honored  and  blessed, 
than  the  life  of  any  mere  society  woman  can 
be,  or  any  life,  for  that  matter;  for  you  are 
thus  living  a  life  the  highest  this  world  can 
know.  And  you  will  thus  hasten  the  day 
when,  standing  and  looking  back  and  seeing 
the  emptiness  and  the  littleness  of  the  other 
life  as  compared  with  this,  you  will  bless  the 
time  that  your  better  judgment  prevailed  and 
saved  you  from  it.  Or,  if  you  chance  to  be 
in  it  already,  delay  not,  but  commence  now  to 
build  upon  this  true  foundation. 

Instead  of  discharging  your  footman,  as  did 
a  woman  of  whom  I  chance  to  know,  because 
he  finally  refused  to  stand  in  the  rain  by  the 
side  of  her  carriage,  with  his  arms  folded  just 
so,  standing  immovable  like  a  mummy  (I  had 
almost  said  like  a  fool),  daring  to  look  neither 
to  one  side  nor  the  other,  but  all  the  time  in 
the  direction  of  her  so-called  ladyship,  while 
she  spent  an  hour  or  two  in  doing  fifteen  or 
twenty  minutes'  shopping  in  her  desire  to 
make  it  known  that  this  is  Mrs.  Q. 's  carriage, 
and  this  is  the  footman  that  goes  with  it, — 
instead  of  doing  this,  give  him  an  umbrella 
if  necessary,  and  take  him  to  aid  you  as  you 
go  on  your  errands  of  mercy  and  cheer  and 


58         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

service  and  loving  kindness  to  the  innumer- 
able ones  all  about  you  who  so  stand  in  need 
of  them. 

Is  there  any  comparison  between  the  appel- 
lation "Lady  Bountiful"  and  "a  proud,  self- 
ish, pleasure-seeking  woman"?  And,  much 
more,  do  you  think  there  is  any  comparison 
whatever  between  the  real  pleasure  and  hap- 
piness and  satisfaction  in  the  lives  of  the 
two?  / 

Is  it  the  ambition  of  your  life  to  accumulate 
great  wealth,  and  thus  to  acquire  a  great  name, 
and  along  with  it  happiness  and  satisfaction  ? 
Then  remember  that  whether  these  will  come 
to  you  will  depend  entirely  upon  the  use  and 
disposition  you  make  of  your  wealth.  If  you 
regard  it  as  a  private  trust  to  be  used  for  the 
highest  good  of  mankind,  then  well  and  good, 
these  will  come  to  you.  If  your  object,  how- 
ever, is  to  pile  it  up,  to  hoard  it,  then  neither 
will  come;  and  you  will  find  it  a  life  as  unsat- 
isfactory as  one  can  live. 

There  is,  there  can  be,  no  greatness  in 
things,  in  material  things,  of  themselves. 
The  greatness  is  determined  entirely  by  the 
use  and  disposition  made  of  them.  The 
greatest  greatness  and  the  only  true  greatness 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING         59 

in  the  world  is  unselfish  love  and  service  and 
self-devotion  to  one's  fellow-men. 

Look  at  the  matter  carefully,  and  tell  me 
candidly  if  there  can  be  anything  more  foolish 
than  a  man's  spending  all  the  days  of  his  life 
piling  up  and  hoarding  money,  too  mean  and 
too  stingy  to  use  any  but  what  is  absolutely 
necessary,  accumulating  many  times  more 
than  he  can  possibly  ever  use,  always  eager  for 
more,  growing  still  more  eager  and  grasping 
the  nearer  he  comes  to  life's  end,  then  lying 
down,  dying,  and  leaving  it.  It  seems  to  me 
about  as  sensible  for  a  man  to  have  as  the 
great  aim  and  ambition  of  life  the  piling  up 
of  an  immense  pile  of  old  iron  in  the  middle 
of  a  large  field,  and  sitting  on  it  day  after  day 
because  he  is  so  wedded  to  it  that  it  has  be- 
come a  part  of  his  life  and  lest  a  fragment 
disappear,  denying  himself  and  those  around 
him  many  of  the  things  that  go  to  make  life 
valuable  and  pleasant,  and  finally  dying  there, 
himself,  the  soul,  so  dwarfed  and  so  stunted 
that  he  has  really  a  hard  time  to  make  his  way 
out  of  the  miserable  old  body.  There  is  not 
such  a  great  difference,  if  you  will  think  of  it 
carefully,  —  one  a  pile  of  old  iron,  the  other 
a  pile  of  gold  or  silver,  but  all  belonging  to 
the  same  general  class. 


6O         WHAT    ALL    THE   WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

It  is  a  great  law  of  our  being  that  we  be- 
come like  those  things  we  contemplate.  If  we 
contemplate  those  that  are  true  and  noble  and 
elevating,  we  grow  in  the  likeness  of  these. 
If  we  contemplate  merely  material  things,  as 
gold  or  silver  or  copper  or  iron,  our  souls, 
our  natures,  and  even  our  faces  become  like 
them,  hard  and  flinty,  robbed  of  their  finer  and 
better  and  grander  qualities.  Call  to  mind  the 
person  or  picture  of  the  miser,  and  you  will 
quickly  see  that  this  is  true.  Merely  nature's 
great  law.  He  thought  he  was  going  to  be 
a  master:  he  finds  himself  the  slave.  Instead 
of  possessing  his  wealth,  his  wealth  possesses 
him.  How  often  have  I  seen  persons  of 
nearly  or  quite  this  kind !  Some  can  be  found 
almost  anywhere.  You  can  call  to  mind  a 
few,  perhaps  many. 

During  the  past  two  or  three  years  two  well- 
known  millionaires  in  the  United  States,  mill- 
ionaires man)'  times  over,  have  died.  The 
one  started  into  life  with  the  idea  of  acquiring 
a  great  name  by  accumulating  great  wealth. 
These  two  things  he  had  in  mind,  —  self  and 
great  wealth.  And,  as  he  went  on,  he  gradually 
became  so  that  he  could  see  nothing  but  these. 
The  greed  for  gain  soon  made  him  more  and 
more  the  slave ;  and  he,  knowing  nothing  other 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING         6l 

than  obedience  to  his  master,  piled  and  accu- 
mulated and  hoarded,  and  after  spending  all 
his  days  thus,  he  then  lay  down  and  died,  tak- 
ing not  so  much  as  one  poor  little  penny 
with  him,  only  a  soul  dwarfed  compared  to 
what  it  otherwise  might  have  been.  For  it 
might  have  been  the  soul  of  a  royal  master 
instead  of  that  of  an  abject  slave. 

The  papers  noted  his  death  with  seldom 
even  a  single  word  of  praise.  It  was  regretted 
by  few,  and  he  was  mourned  by  still  fewer. 
And  even  at  his  death  he  was  spoken  of  by 
thousands  in  words  far  from  complimentary, 
all  uniting  in  saying  what  he  might  have  been 
and  done,  what  a  tremendous  power  for  good, 
how  he  might  have  been  loved  and  honored 
during  his  life,  and  at  death  mourned  and 
blessed  by  the  entire  nation,  the  entire  world. 
A  pitiable  sight,  indeed,  to  see  a  human  mind, 
a  human  soul,  thus  voluntarily  enslave  itself 
for  a  few  temporary  pieces  of  metal. 

The  other  started  into  life  with  the  princi- 
ple that  a  man's  success  is  to  be  measured  by 
his  direct  usefulness  to  his  fellow-men,  to  the 
world  in  which  he  lives,  and  by  this  alone; 
that  private  wealth  is  merely  a  private  trust  to 
be  used  for  the  highest  good  of  mankind. 
Under  the  benign  influences  of  this  mighty 


62         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

principle  of  service,  we  see  him  great,  influ- 
ential, wealthy;  his  whole  nature  expanding, 
himself  growing  large-hearted,  generous,  mag- 
nanimous, serving  his  State,  his  country,  his 
fellow-men,  writing  his  name  on  the  hearts  of 
all  he  comes  in  contact  with,  so  that  his  name 
is  never  thought  of  by  them  without  feelings 
of  gratitude  and  praise. 

Then  as  the  chief  service  to  his  fellow-men, 
next  to  his  own  personal  influence  and  exam- 
ple, he  uses  his  vast  fortune,  this  vast  private 
trust,  for  the  founding  and  endowing  of  a  great 
institution  of  learning,  using  his  splendid 
business  capacities  in  its  organization,  having 
uppermost  in  mind  in  its  building  that  young 
men  and  young  women  may  there  have  every 
advantage  at  the  least  possible  expense  to  fit 
themselves  in  turn  for  the  greatest  direct  use- 
fulness to  their  fellow-men  while  they  live  in 
the  world. 

In  the  midst  of  these  activities  the  news 
comes  of  his  death.  Many  hearts  now  are 
sad.  The  true,  large-hearted,  sympathizing 
friend,  the  servant  of  rich  and  poor  alike,  has 
gone  away.  Countless  numbers  whom  he  has 
befriended,  encouraged,  helped,  and  served, 
bless  his  name,  and  give  thanks  that  such  a  life 
has  been  lived.  His  own  great  State  rises  up 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING         63 

as  his  pall-bearers,  while  the  entire  nation 
acts  as  honorary  pall-bearers.  Who  can  esti- 
mate the  influence  of  a  life  such  as  this?  But 
it  cannot  be  estimated;  for  it  will  flow  from 
the  ones  personally  influenced  to  others,  and 
through  them  to  others  throughout  eternity. 
He  alone  who  in  His  righteous  balance  weighs 
each  human  act  can  estimate  it.  And  his 
final  munificent  gift  to  mankind  will  make 
his  name  remembered  and  honored  and  blessed 
long  after  the  accumulations  of  mere  pluto- 
crats are  scattered  and  mankind  forgets  that 
they  have  ever  lived. 

Then  have  as  your  object  the  accumulation 
of  great  wealth  if  you  choose;  but  bear  in 
mind  that,  unless  you  are  able  to  get  beyond 
self,  it  will  make  you  not  great,  but  small,  and 
you  will  rob  life  of  the  finer  and  better  things 
in  it.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  you  are  guided 
by  the  principle  that  private  wealth  is  but  a 
private  trust,  and  that  direct  usefulness  or 
service  to  mankind  is  the  only  real  measure 
of  true  greatness,  and  bring  your  life  into 
harmony  with  it,  then  you  will  become  and 
will  be  counted  great;  and  with  it  will  come 
that  rich  joy  and  happiness  and  satisfaction 
that  always  accompanies  a  life  of  true  service, 
and  therefore  the  best  and  truest  life. 


64         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

One  can  never  afford  to  forget  that  person- 
ality,  life,  and  character,  that  there  may  be 
the  greatest  service,  are  the  chief  things,  and 
wealth  merely  the  incident.  Nor  can  one 
afford  to  be  among  those  who  are  too  mean, 
too  small,  or  too  stingy  to  invest  in  anything 
that  will  grow  and  increase  these. 


PART   III. 
THE  UNFOLDMENT 


THE    UNFOLDMENT. 

If  you'd  have  a  rare  growth  and  unfoldmenl  supreme, 
And  make  life  one  long  joy  and  contentment  complete, 

Then  with  kindliness,  love,  and  good  will  let  it  teem, 
And  with  service  for  all  make  it  fully  replete. 

If  you'd  have  all  the  world  and  all  heaven  to  love  you, 
And  that  love  with  its  power  would  you  fully  convince, 

Then  love  all  the  world ;  and  men  royal  and  true, 

Will   make   cry  as  you   pass  —  "God  bless  him,  the 
prince ! " 

L)NE  beautiful  feature  of  this  principle  of 
love  and  service  is  that  this  phase  of  one's 
personality,  or  nature,  can  be  grown.  I  have 
heard  it  asked,  If  one  hasn't  it  to  any  marked 
degree  naturally,  what  is  to  be  done?  In 
reply  let  it  be  said,  Forget  self,  get  out  of  it 
for  a  little  while,  and,  as  it  comes  in  your 
way,  do  something  for  some  one,  some  kind 
service,  some  loving  favor,  it  makes  no  differ- 
ence how  small  it  may  appear.  But  a  kind 
look  or  word  to  one  weary  with  care,  from 
whose  life  all  worth  living  for  seems  to  have 
gone  out ;  a  helping  hand  or  little  lift  to  one 
almost  discouraged, —  it  may  be  that  this  is 


68          WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

just  the  critical  moment,  a  helping  hand  just 
now  may  change  a  life  or  a  destiny.  Show 
yourself  a  friend  to  one  who  thinks  he  or  she 
is  friendless. 

Oh,  there  are  a  thousand  opportunities  each 
day  right  where  you  are, —  not  the  great  things 
far  away,  but  the  little  things  right  at  hand. 
With  a  heart  full  of  love  do  something :  expe- 
rience the  rich  returns  that  will  come  to  you, 
and  it  will  be  unnecessary  to  urge  a  repetition 
or  a  continuance.  The  next  time  it  will  be 
easier  and  more  natural,  and  the  next.  You 
know  of  that  wonderful  reflex-nerve  system  you 
have  in  your  body,  —  that  which  says  that 
whenever  you  do  a  certain  thing  in  a  certain 
way,  it  is  easier  to  do  the  same  thing  the  next 
time,  and  the  next,  and  the  next,  until  pres- 
ently it  is  done  with  scarcely  any  effort  on 
your  part  at  all,  it  has  become  your  second 
nature.  And  thus  we  have  what  ?  Habit. 
This  is  the  way  that  all  habit  is,  the  way  that 
all  habit  must  be  formed.  And  have  you  ever 
fully  realized  that  life  is,  after  all,  merely  a 
series  of  habits,  and  that  it  lies  entirely 
within  one's  own  power  to  determine  just  what 
that  series  shall  be? 

I  have  seen  this  great  principle  made  the 
foundation  principle  in  an  institution  of  learp 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD*S    A-SEEKING         69 

ing.  It  is  made  not  a  theory  merely  as  I  have 
seen  it  here  and  there,  but  a  vital,  living 
truth.  And  I  wish  I  had  time  to  tell  of  its 
wonderful  and  beautiful  influences  upon  the 
life  and  work  of  that  institution,  and  upon  the 
lives  and  the  work  of  those  who  go  out  from 
it.  A  joy  indeed  to  be  there.  One  can't 
enter  within  its  walls  even  for  a  few  moments 
without  feeling  its  benign  influences.  One 
can't  go  out  without  taking  them  with  him. 
I  have  seen  purposes  and_  lives  almost  or  qui^ 
transformed;  and  life  so  rich,  so  beautiful, 
and  so  valuable  opened  up,  such  as  the  per- 
sons never  dreamed  could  be,  by  being  but  a 
single  year  under  these  beautiful  and  life-giving 
influences. 

I  have  also  seen  it  made  the  foundation 
principle  of  a  great  summer  congress,  one  that 
has  already  done  an  unprecedented  work,  one 
that  has  a  far  greater  work  yet  before  it,  and 
chiefly  by  reason  of  this  all-powerful  founda- 
tion upon  which  it  is  built, —  conceived  and 
put  into  operation  as  it  was  by  a  rare  and 
highly  illumined  soul,  one  thoroughly  filled 
with  the  love  of  service  for  all  the  human 
kind.  There  are  no  thoughts  of  money  re- 
turns, for  everything  it  has  to  give  is  as  free 
as  the  beautiful  atmosphere  that  pervades  it. 


7O         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

The  result  is  that  there  is  drawn  together,  by 
way  of  its  magnificent  corps  of  lectures  as  well 
as  those  in  attendance,  a  company  of  people  of 
the  rarest  type,  so  that  everywhere  there  is  a 
manifestation  of  that  spirit  of  love,  helpful- 
ness, and  kindliness,  that  permeates  the  entire 
atmosphere  with  a  deep  feeling  of  peace,  that 
makes  every  moment  of  life  a  joy. 

So  enchanting  does  this  spirit  make  the 
place  that  very  frequently  the  single  day  of 
some  who  have  come  for  this  length  of  time 
has  lengthened  itself  into  a  week,  and  the 
week  in  turn  into  a  month ;  and  the  single 
week  of  others  has  frequently  lengthened  it- 
self, first  into  a  month,  then  into  the  entire 
summer.  There  is  nothing  at  all  strange  in 
this  fact,  however ;  for  wherever  one  finds  sweet 
humanity,  he  there  finds  a  spot  where  all  people 
love  to  dwell. 

Making  this  the  fundamental  principle  of 
one's  life,  around  which  all  others  properly 
arrange  and  subordinate  themselves,  is  not,  as 
a  casual  observer  might  think,  and  as  he  some- 
times suggests,  an  argument  against  one's  own 
growth  and  development,  against  the  highest 
possible  unfoldment  of  his  entire  personality 
and  powers.  Rather,  on  the  other  hand,  is  it 
one  of  the  greatest  reasons,  one  of  the  greatest 


WHAT   ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING         /I 

arguments,  in  its  favor;  for,  the  stronger  the 
personality  and  the  greater  the  powers,  the 
greater  the  influence  in  the  service  of  man- 
kind. If,  then,  life  be  thus  founded,  can 
there  possibly  be  any  greater  incentive  to  that 
self-development  that  brings  one  up  to  his 
highest  possibilities?  A  development  merely 
for  self  alone  can  never  have  behind  it  an  in- 
centive, a  power  so  great ;  and  after  all,  there 
is  nothing  in  the  world  so  great,  so  effective 
in  the  service  of  mankind,  as  a  strong,  noble, 
and  beautiful  manhood  or  womanhood.  It  is 
this  that  in  the  ultimate  determines  the  influ- 
ence of  every  man  upon  his  fellow-men.  Life, 
character,  is  the  greatest  power  in  the  world, 
and  character  it  is  that  gives  the  power ;  for 
in  all  true  power,  along  whatever  line  it  may 
be,  it  is  after  all,  living  the  life  that  tells. 
This  is  a  great  law  that  but  few  who  would 
have  great  power  and  influence  seem  to  recog- 
nize, or,  at  least,  that  but  few  seem  to  act 
upon. 

Are  you  a  writer?  You  can  never  write 
more  than  you  yourself  are.  Would  you  write 
more?  Then  broaden,  deepen,  enrich  the  life. 
Are  you  a  minister?  You  can  never  raise 
men  higher  than  you  have  raised  yourself. 
Your  words  will  have  exactly  the  sound  of  the 


?2         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

life  whence  they  come.  Hollow  the  life? 
Hollow-sounding  and  empty  will  be  the  words, 
weak,  ineffective,  false.  Would  you  have 
them  go  with  greater  power,  and  thus  be  more 
effective?  Live  the  life,  the  power  will 
come.  Are  you  an  orator?  The  power  and 
effectiveness  of  your  words  in  influencing  and 
moving  masses  of  men  depends  entirely  upon 
the  altitude  from  which  they  are  spoken. 
Would  you  have  them  more  effective,  each  one 
filled  with  a  living  power?  Then  elevate  the 
life,  the  power  will  come.  Are  you  in  the 
walks  of  private  life?  Then,  wherever  you 
move,  there  goes  from  you,  even  if  there  be  no 
word  spoken,  a  silent  but  effective  influence  of 
an  elevating  or  a  degrading  nature.  Is  the 
life  high,  beautiful  ?  Then  the  influences  are 
inspiring,  life-giving.  Is  it  low,  devoid  of 
beauty?  The  influences  then,  are  disease 
laden,  death-dealing.  The  tones  of  your 
voice,  the  attitude  of  your  body,  the  character 
of  your  face,  all  are  determined  by  the  life 
you  live,  all  in  turn  influence  for  better  or  for 
worse  all  who  come  within  your  radius.  And 
if,  as  one  of  earth's  great  souls  has  said, 
the  only  way  truly  to  help  a  man  is  to  make 
him  better,  then  the  tremendous  power  of 
merely  the  life  itself. 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING         73 

Why,  I  know  personally  a  young  man  of 
splendid  qualities  and  gifts,  who  was  rapidly 
on  the  way  of  ruin,  as  the  term  goes,  gradually 
losing  control  of  himself  day  after  day,  self- 
respect  almost  gone, —  already  the  thought  of 
taking  his  own  life  had  entered  his  mind, — 
who  was  so  inspired  with  the  mere  presence 
and  bearing  of  a  royal-hearted  young  man, 
one  who  had  complete  mastery  of  himself,  and 
therefore  a  young  man  of  power,  that  the  very 
sight  of  him  as  he  went  to  and  fro  in  his  daily 
work  was  a  power  that  called  his  better  self  to 
the  front  again,  awakened  the  God  nature 
within  him,  so  that  he  again  set  his  face  in 
the  direction  of  the  right,  the  true,  the 
manly;  and  to-day  there  is  no  grander, 
stronger,  more  beautiful  soul  in  all  the  wide 
country  than  he.  Yes,  there  is  a  powerful 
influence  that  resolves  itself  into  a  service  for 
all  in  each  individual  strong,  pure,  and  noble 
life. 

And  have  the  wonderful  possibilities  of 
what  may  be  termed  an  inner  or  soul  develop- 
ment ever  come  strongly  to  your  notice? 
Perhaps  not,  for  as  yet  only  a  few  have  begun 
to  recognize  under  this  name  a  certain  great 
power  that  has  always  existed,  —  a  power  that 
has  never  as  yet  been  fully  understood,  and  so 


74         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

has  been  called  by  this  term  and  by  that.  It 
is  possible  so  to  develop  this  soul  power  that, 
as  we  stand  merely  and  talk  with  a  person, 
there  goes  out  from  us  a  silent  influence  that 
the  person  cannot  see  or  hear,  but  that  he 
feels,  and  the  influences  of  which  he  cannot 
escape ;  that,  as  we  merely  go  into  a  room  in 
which  several  persons  are  sitting,  there  goes 
out  from  us  a  power,  a  silent  influence  that  all 
will  feel  and  will  be  influenced  by,  even 
though  not  a  word  be  spoken.  This  has  been 
the  power  of  every  man,  of  every  woman,  of 
great  and  lasting  influence  in  the  world's 
history. 

It  is  just  beginning  to  come  to  us  through 
a  few  highly  illumined  souls  that  this  power 
can  be  grown,  that  it  rests  upon  great  natural 
law  that  the  Author  of  our  being  has  insti- 
tuted within  us  and  about  us.  It  is  during 
the  next  few  years  that  we  are  to  see  many 
wonderful  developments  along  this  line;  for  in 
this,  as  in  many  others,  the  light  is  just  be- 
ginning to  break.  A  few,  who  are  far  up  on 
the  heights  of  human  development,  are  just 
beginning  to  catch  the  first  few  faint  flushes 
of  the  dawn.  Then  live  to  your  highest. 
This  of  itself  will  make  you  of  great  ser- 
vice to  mankind,  but  without  this  you  never 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING         75 

can  be.  Naught  is  the  difference  how  hard 
you  may  try ;  and  know,  even  so  far  as  your 
own  highest  interests  are  concerned,  that  the 
true  joy  of  existence  comes  from  living  to  one's 
highest. 

v  This  life,  and  this  alone,  will  bring  that 
which  I  believe  to  be  one  of  the  greatest 
characteristics  of  a  truly  great  man, —  humil- 
ity; and  when  one  says  humility,  he  neces- 
sarily implies  simplicity;  for  the  two  always 
go  hand  in  hand.  The  one  is  born  of  the 
other.  *The  proud,  the  vain,  the  haughty, 
those  striving  for  effect,  are  never  counted 
among  the  world's  greatest  personages.  The 
very  fact  of  one's  striving  for  effect  of  itself 
indicates  that  there  is  not  enough  in  him  to 
make  him  really  great;  while  he  who  really 
is  so  needs  never  concern  himself  about  it, 
nor  does  he  ever.  I  can  think  of  no  better 
way  for  one  to  attain  to  humility  and  sim- 
plicity than  for  him  to  have  his  mind  off 
of  self  in  the  service  of  others.  Vanity,  that 
most  dangerous  quality,  and  especially  for 
young  people,  is  the  outcome  of  one's  always 
regarding  self. 

Mrs.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  once  said  that, 
when  they  lived  in  the  part  of  Brooklyn  known 
as  the  Heights,  they  could  always  tell  when 


76         WHAT    ALL    THE   WORLD*S    A-SEEKING 

Mr.  Beecher  was  coming  in  the  evening  from 
the  voices  and  the  joyous  laughter  of  the  chil- 
dren. All  the  street  urchins,  as  well  as  the 
more  well-to-do  children  in  the  vicinity,  knew 
him,  and  would  often  wait  for  his  coming. 
When  they  saw  him  in  the  distance,  they 
would  run  and  gather  around  him,  get  hold  of 
his  hands,  into  those  large  overcoat  pockets 
for  the  nuts  and  the  good  things  he  so  often 
rilled  them  with  before  starting  for  home, 
knowing  as  he  did  full  well  what  was  coming, 
tug  at  him  to  keep  him  with  them  as  long  as 
they  could,  he  all  the  time  laughing  or  run- 
ning as  if  to  get  away,  never  too  great  —  ay, 
rather  let  us  say,  great  enough  —  to  join  with 
them  in  their  sports. 

That  mysterious  dignity  of  a  man  less  great, 
therefore  with  less  of  humility  and  simplicity, 
with  mind  always  intent  upon  self  and  his  own 
standing,  would  have  told  him  that  possibly 
this  might  not  be  just  the  "proper  thing"  to 
do.  But  even  the  children,  street  urchins  as 
well  as  those  well-to-do,  found  in  this  great 
loving  soul  a  friend.  Recall  similar  incidents 
in  the  almost  daily  life  of  Lincoln  and  in  the 
lives  of  all  truly  great  men.  All  have  that 
beautiful  and  ever-powerful  characteristic, 
that  simple,  childlike  nature. 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING         77 

V 
Another  most  beautiful  and  valuable  feature 

of  this  life  is  its  effect  upon  one's  own  growth 
and  development.  There  is  a  law  which  says 
that  one  can't  do  a  kind  act  or  a  loving  service 
for  another  without  its  bringing  rich  returns 
to  his  own  life  and  growth.  This  is  an  in- 
variable law.  Can  I  then,  do  a  kind  act  or 
a  loving  service  for  a  brother  or  a  sister, —  and 
all  indeed  are  such  because  children  of  the 
same  Father, —  why,  I  should  be  glad  —  ay, 
doubly  glad  of  the  opportunity.  If  I  do  it 
thus  out  of  love,  forgetful  of  self,  for  aught  I 
know  it  may  do  me  more  good  than  the  one  I 
do  it  for,  in  its  influence  upon  the  growing  of 
that  rich,  beautiful,  and  happy  life  it  is  mine 
to  grow;  though  the  joy  and  satisfaction  re- 
sulting from  it,  the  highest,  the  sweetest,  the 
keenest  this  life  can  know,  are  of  themselves 
abundant  rewards. 

In  addition  to  all  this  it  scarcely  ever  fails 
that  those  who  are  thus  aided  by  some  loving 
service  may  be  in  a  position  somehow,  some- 
when,  somewhere,  either  directly  or  indirectly, 
and  at  a  time  when  it  may  be  most  needed  or 
most  highly  appreciated,  to  do  in  turn  a  kind 
service  for  him  who,  with  never  a  thought  of 
any  possible  return,  has  dealt  kindly  with 
them.  So 


78          WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

"  Cast  your  bread  upon  the  waters,  far  and  wide  your 

treasures  strew, 

Scatter  it  with  willing  fingers,  shout  for  joy  to  see  it  go  ! 
You  may  think  it  lost  forever ;  but,  as  sure  as  God  is 

true, 
In  this  life  and  in  the  other  it  will  yet  return  to  you." 

|  Have  you  sorrows  or  trials  that  seem  very 
heavy  to  bear?  Then  let  me  tell  you  that  one 
of  the  best  ways  in  the  world  to  lighten  and 
sweeten  them  is  to  lose  yourself  in  the  service 
of  others,  in  helping  to  bear  and  lighten  those 
of  a  fellow-being  whose,  perchance,  are  much 
more  grievous  than  your  own;)  It  is  a  great 
law  of  your  being  which  says  you  can  do  this. 
Try  it,  and  experience  the  truth  for  yourself, 
and  know  that,  when  turned  in  this  way,  sor- 
row is  the  most  beautiful  soul-refiner  of  which 
the  world  knows,  and  hence  not  to  be  shunned, 
but  to  be  welcomed  and  rightly  turned. 

There  comes  to  my  mind  a  poor  widow 
woman  whose  life  would  seem  to  have  nothing 
in  it  to  make  it  happy,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
cheerless  and  tiresome,  and  whose  work  would 
have  been  very  hard,  had  it  not  been  fora  little 
crippled  child  she  dearly  loved  and  cared  for, 
and  who  was  all  the  more  precious  to  her  on 
account  of  its  helplessness.  Losing  herself 
and  forgetting  her  own  hard  lot  in  the  care  of 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING          /Q 

the  little  cripple,  her  whole  life  was  made 
cheerful  and  happy,  and  her  work  not  hard,  but 
easy,  because  lightened  by  love  and  service  for 
another.  And  this  is  but  one  of  innumerable 
cases  of  this  kind. 

So  you  may  turn  your  sorrows,  you  may 
lighten  your  burdens,  by  helping  bear  the  bur- 
dens, if  not  of  a  crippled  child,  then  of  a 
brother  or  a  sister  who  in  another  sense  may 
be  crippled,  or  who  may  become  so  but  for 
your  timely  service.  You  can  find  them  all 
about  you  :  never  pass  one  by. 

By  building  upon  this  principle,  the  poor 
may  thus  live  as  grandly  and  as  happily  as  the 
rich,  those  in  humble  and  lowly  walks  of 
life  as  grandly  and  as  happily  as  those  in  what 
seem  to  be  more  exalted  stations.  Recogniz- 
ing the  truth,  as  we  certainly  must  by  this 
time,  that  one  is  truly  great  only  in  so  far  as 
this  is  made  the  fundamental  principle  of  his 
life,  it  becomes  evident  that  that  longing  for 
greatness  for  its  and  for  one's  own  sake  falls 
away,  and  none  but  a  diseased  mind  cares  for 
it;  for  no  sooner  is  it  grasped  than,  as  a 
bubble,  it  bursts,  because  it  is  not  the  true, 
the  permanent,  but  the  false,  the  transient. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  who  forgetting  self 
and  this  kind  of  greatness,  falsely  so  called,  in 


8O         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

the  service  of  his  fellow-men,  by  this  very 
fact  puts  himself  on  the  right  track,  the  only 
track  for  the  true,  the  genuine;  and  in  what 
degree  it  will  come  to  him  depends  entirely 
upon  his  adherence  to  the  law. 

And  do  you  know  the  influence  of  this  life 
in  the  moulding  of  the  features,  that  it  gives 
the  highest  beauty  that  can  dwell  there,  the 
beauty  that  comes  from  within, —  the  soul 
beauty,  so  often  found  in  the  paintings  of  the 
old  masters,  f  True  beauty  must  come,  must 
be  grown,  from  withini  That  outward  veneer- 
ing, which  is  so  prevalent,  can  never  be  even 
a  poor  imitation  of  this  type  of  the  true,  the 
genuine.  To  appreciate  fully  the  truth  of 
this,  it  is  but  necessary  to  look  for  a  moment 
at  that  beautiful  picture  by  Sant,  the  "Soul's 
Awakening,"  a  face  that  grows  more  beautiful 
each  time  one  looks  at  it,  and  that  one  never 
tires  of  looking  at,  and  compare  with  it  the 
fractional  parts  of  apothecary  shops  we  see 
now  and  then  —  or  so  often,  to  speak  more 
truly  —  on  the  streets.  A  face  of  this  higher 
type  carries  with  it  a  benediction  wherever 
it  goes. 

A  beautiful  little  incident  came  to  my 
notice  not  long  ago.  It  was  a  very  hot  and 
dusty  day.  The  passengers  on  the  train  were 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING         8 1 

weary  and  tired.  The  time  seemed  long  and 
the  journey  cheerless.  A  lady  with  a  face 
that  carries  a  benediction  to  all  who  see  her 
entered  the  car  with  a  little  girl,  also  of  that 
type  of  beauty  that  comes  from  within,  and 
with  a  voice  musical,  sweet,  and  sparkling, 
such  as  also  comes  from  this  source. 

The  child,  when  they  were  seated,  had  no 
sooner  spoken  a  few  words  before  she  began 
to  enlist  the  attention  of  her  fellow-passen- 
gers. She  began  playing  peek-a-boo  with  a 
staid  and  dignified  old  gentleman  in  the  seat 
behind  her.  He  at  first  looked  at  her  over  his 
spectacles,  then  lowered  his  paper  a  little, 
then  a  little  more,  and  a  little  more.  Finally, 
he  dropped  it  altogether,  and,  apparently  for- 
getting himself  and  his  surroundings,  became 
oblivious  to  everything  in  the  fascinating 
pleasure  he  was  having  with  the  little  girl. 
The  other  passengers  soon  found  themselves 
following  his  example.  All  papers  and  books 
were  dropped.  The  younger  folks  gave  way  to 
joyous  laughter,  and  all  seemed  to  vie  with 
each  other  in  having  the  honor  of  receiving  a 
word  or  a  smile  from  the  little  one. 

The  dust,  the  heat,  the  tired,  cheerless 
feelings  were  all  forgotten ;  and  when  these 
two  left  the  car,  the  little  girl  waving  them 


82        WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

good-by,  instinctively,  as  one  person,  all  the 
passengers  waved  it  to  her  in  return,  and  two 
otherwise  dignified  gentlemen,  leaving  their 
seats,  passed  over  to  the  other  side,  and  looked 
out  of  the  window  to  see  her  as  long  as  they 
could.  Something  as  an  electrical  spark 
seemed  to  have  passed  through  the  car.  All 
were  light-hearted  and  happy  now;  and  the 
conditions  in  the  car,  compared  to  what  they 
were  before  these  two  entered,  would  rival  the 
work  of  the  stereopticon,  so  far  as  completeness 
of  change  is  concerned.  You  have  seen  such 
faces  and  have  heard  such  voices.  They  re- 
sult from  a  life  the  kind  we  are  considering. 
They  are  but  its  outward  manifestations, 
spontaneous  as  the  water  from  the  earth  as 
it  bursts  forth  a  natural  fountain. 

We  must  not  fail  also  to  notice  the  effect 
of  this  life  upon  one's  manners  and  bearing. 
True  politeness  comes  from  a  life  founded 
upon  this  great  principle,  and  from  this  alone. 
This  gives  the  true  gentleman, — gentle-man, 
—  a  man  gentle,  kind,  loving,  courteous  from 
nature.  Such  a  one  can't  have  anything  but 
true  politeness,  can't  be  anything  but  a 
gentle-man;  for  one  can't  truly  be  anything 
but  himself.  So  the  one  always  intent  upon 
and  thinking  of  self  cannot  be  the  true  gentle- 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD 's    A- SEEKING        83 

man,  notwithstanding  the  artful  contrivances 
and  studied  efforts  to  appear  so,  but  which  so 
generally  reveal  his  own  shallowness  and  arti- 
ficiality, and  disgust  all  with  whom  he  comes 
in  contact. 

^1  sometimes  meet  a  person  who,  when  in- 
troduced, will  go  through  a  series  of  stiff, 
cold,  and  angular  movements,  the  knee  at  such 
a  bend,  the  foot  at  such  an  angle,  the  back 
with  such  a  bend  or  hump,  —  much  less  pleas- 
ant to  see  than  that  of  a  camel  or  a  dromedary, 
for  with  these  it  is  natural, —  so  that  I  have 
found  myself  almost  thinking,  Poor  fellow,  I 
wonder  what  the  trouble  is,  whether  he  will 
get  over  it  all  right.  It  is  so  very  evident 
that  he  all  the  time  has  his  mind  upon  him- 
self, wondering  whether  or  not  he  is  getting 
everything  just  right.  What  a  relief  to  turn 
from  such  a  one  to  one  who,  instead  of  think- 
ing always  of  self,  has  continually  in  mind  the 
ease  and  comfort  and  pleasure  he  can  give  to 
others,  who,  in  other  words,  is  the  true 
gentle-man,  and  with  whom  true  politeness  is 
natural;  for  one's  every  act  is  born  of  his 
thoughts. 

It  is  said  that  there  was  no  truer  gentleman 
in  all  Scotland  than  Robert  Burns.  And  yet 
he  was  a  farmer  all  his  life,  and  had  never 


84        WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

been  away  from  his  native  little  rural  village 
into  a  city  until  near  the  close  of  his  life, 
when,  taking  the  manuscripts  that  for  some 
time  had  been  accumulating  in  the  drawer  of 
his  writing-table  up  to  Edinburgh,  he  capti- 
vated the  hearts  of  all  in  the  capital.  With- 
out studied  contrivances,  he  was  the  true  gen- 
tleman, and  true  politeness  was  his,  because 
his  life  was  founded  upon  the  principle  that 
continually  brought  from  his  pen  lines  such 
as:  — 

"  It's  coming  yet,  for  a'  that, 

That  man  to  man,  the  warld  o'er, 

Shall  brothers  be  for  a'  that ! " 

And  under  the  influence  of  this  principle, 
he  was  a  gentleman  by  nature,  and  one  of  nat- 
ure's noblemen,  without  ever  thinking  whether 
he  was  or  not,  as  he  who  is  truly  such  never 
needs  to  and  never  does. 

And  then  recall  the  large-hearted  Ben 
Franklin,  when  sent  to  the  French  court.  In 
his  plain  gray  clothes,  unassuming  and  en- 
tirely forgetful  of  himself,  how  he  captured 
the  hearts  of  all,  of  even  the  giddy  society 
ladies,  and  how  he  became  and  remained  while 
there  the  centre  of  attraction  in  that  gay  capi- 
tal!  His  politeness,  his  manners,  all  the 
result  of  that  great,  kind,  loving,  and  helpful 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING        85 

nature  which  made  others  feel  that  it  was  they 
he  was  devoting  himself  to,  and  not  himself. 

This  little  extract  from  a  letter  written  by 
Franklin  to  George  Whitefield  will  show  how 
he  regarded  the  great  principle  we  are  consid- 
ering: "As  to  the  kindness  you  mention,  I 
wish  it  could  have  been  of  more  service  to  you. 
But,  if  it  had,  the  only  thanks  I  should  desire 
is  that  you  would  always  be  equally  ready  to 
serve  any  other  person  that  may  need  your 
assistance;  and  so  let  good  offices  go  around, 
for  mankind  are  all  of  a  family.  For  my 
own  part,  when  I  am  employed  in  serving 
others,  I  do  not  look  upon  myself  as  confer- 
ring favors,  but  as  paying  debts.  In  my 
travels,  and  since  my  settlement,  I  have  re- 
ceived much  kindness  from  men  to  whom  I 
shall  never  have  any  opportunity  of  making 
any  direct  return,  and  numberless  mercies 
from  God,  who  is  infinitely  above  being  bene- 
fited by  our  services.  These  kindnesses  from 
men  I  can,  therefore,  only  return  on  their 
fellow-men;  and  I  can  only  show  my  gratitude 
for  these  mercies  from  God  by  a  readiness  to 
help  his  other  children  and  my  brethren." 

No,  true  gentlemanliness  and  politeness  al- 
ways comes  from  within,  and  is  born  of  a  life 
of  love,  kindliness,  and  service.  This  is  the 


86         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A -SEEKING 

universal  language,  known  and  understood 
everywhere,  even  when  our  words  are  not. 
There  is,  you  know,  a  beautiful  old  proverb 
which  says,  "He  who  is  kind  and  courteous  to 
strangers  thereby  shows  himself  a  citizen  of 
the  world.  "  And  there  is  nothing  so  remem- 
bered, and  that  so  endears  one  to  all  mankind, 
as  this  universal  language.  Even  dumb  ani- 
mals understand  it  and  are  affected  by  it. 
How  quickly  the  dog,  for  example,  knows  and 
makes  it  known  when  he  is  spoken  to  and 
treated  kindly  or  the  reverse !  And  here 
shall  not  a  word  be  spoken  in  connection  with 
that  great  body  of  our  fellow-creatures  whom, 
because  we  do  not  understand  their  language, 
we  are  accustomed  to  call  dumb?  The  atti- 
tude we  have  assumed  toward  these  fellow- 
creatures,  and  the  treatment  they  have  been 
subjected  to  in  the  past,  is  something  almost 
appalling. 

There  are  a  number  of  reasons  why  this  has 
been  true.  Has  not  one  been  on  account  of 
a  belief  in  a  future  life  for  man,  but  not  for 
the  animal  ?  A  few  years  ago  a  gentleman  left 
by  will  some  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  the 
work  of  Henry  Bergh's  New  York  Society. 
His  relatives  contested  the  will  on  the  ground 
of  insanity, —  on  the  ground  of  insanity  be- 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING        87 

cause  he  believed  in  a  future  life  for  animals. 
The  judge,  in  giving  his  decision  sustaining 
the  will,  stated  that  after  a  very  careful  in- 
vestigation, he  found  that  fully  half  the  world 
shared  the  same  belief.  Agassiz  thoroughly 
believed  it.  An  English  writer  has  recently 
compiled  a  list  of  over  one  hundred  and 
seventy  English  authors  who  have  so  thor- 
oughly believed  it  as  to  write  upon  the  sub- 
ject. The  same  belief  has  been  shared  by 
many  of  the  greatest  thinkers  in  all  parts  of 
the  world,  and  it  is  a  belief  that  is  constantly 
gaining  ground. 

Another  and  perhaps  the  chief  cause  has 
been  on  account  of  a  supposed  inferior  degree 
of  intelligence  on  the  part  of  animals,  which 
in  another  form  would  mean,  that  they  are 
less  able  to  care  for  and  protect  themselves. 
Should  this,  however,  be  a  reason  why  they 
should  be  neglected  and  cruelly  treated? 
Nay,  on  the  other  hand,  should  this  not  be  the 
greatest  reason  why  we  should  all  the  more 
zealously  care  for,  protect,  and  kindly  treat 
them  ? 

You  or  I  may  have  a  brother  or  a  sister  who 
is  not  normally  endowed  as  to  brain  power, 
who,  perchance,  may  be  idiotic  or  insane,  or 
who,  through  sickness  or  mishap,  is  weak- 


88        WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

minded;  but  do  we  make  this  an  excuse  for 
neglecting,  cruelly  treating,  or  failing  to  love 
such  a  one?  On  the  contrary,  the  very  fact 
that  he  or  she  is  not  so  able  to  plan  for,  care 
for,  and  protect  him  or  her  self,  is  all  the 
greater  reason  for  all  the  more  careful  exercise 
of  these  functions  on  our  part.  But,  certainly, 
there  are  many  animals  around  us  with  far 
more  intelligence,  at  least  manifested  intelli- 
gence, than  this  brother  or  sister.  The  par- 
allel holds,  but  the  absurd  falsity  of  the  posi- 
tion we  assume  is  most  apparent.  No  truer 
nobility  of  character  can  anywhere  manifest 
itself  than  is  shown  in  one's  attitude 
toward  and  treatment  of  those  weaker  or  the 
so-called  inferior,  and  so  with  less  power  to 
care  for  and  protect  themselves.  Moreover,  I 
think  we  shall  find  that  we  are  many  times 
mistaken  in  regard  to  our  beliefs  in  connec- 
tion with  the  inferior  intelligence  of  at  least 
many  animals.  If,  instead  of  using  them 
simply  to  serve  our  own  selfish  ends  without  a 
just  recompense,  without  a  thought  further 
than  as  to  what  we  can  get  out  of  them,  and 
then  many  times  casting  them  off  when  broken 
or  of  no  further  service,  and  many  times  look- 
ing down  upon,  neglecting,  or  even  abusing 
them, —  if,  instead  of  this,  we  would  deal 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING        89 

equitably  with  them,  love  them,  train  and 
educate  them  the  same  as  we  do  our  children, 
we  would  be  somewhat  surprised  at  the  re- 
markable degree  of  intelligence  the  "dumb 
brutes"  possess,  and  also  the  remarkable  de- 
gree of  training  they  are  capable  of.  What, 
however,  can  be  expected  of  them  when  we 
take  the  attitude  we  at  present  hold  toward 
them  ? 

Page  after  page  might  readily  be  filled  with 
most  interesting  as  well  as  inspiring  por- 
trayals of  their  superior  intelligence,  their 
remarkable  capabilities  under  kind  and  judi- 
cious training,  their  faithfulness  and  devotion. 
The  efforts  of  such  noble  and  devoted  workers 
as  Henry  Bergh  in  New  York,  of  George  T. 
Angel  1  in  Massachusetts,  and  many  others  in 
various  parts  of  the  country,  have  already 
brought  about  a  great  change  in  our  attitude 
toward  and  relations  with  this  great  body  of 
our  fellow-creatures,  and  have  made  all  the 
world  more  thoughtful,  considerate,  and  kind. 
This,  however,  is  just  the  beginning  of  a 
work  that  is  assuming  greater  and  ever 
greater  proportions. 

The  work  of  the  American  Humane  Educa- 
tion Society*  is  probably  surpassed  in  its 

*  Headquarters  at  Boston,  Mass. 


9O        WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

vitality  and  far-reaching  results  by  the  work 
of  no  other  society  in  the  world  to-day.  Its 
chief  object  is  the  humane  education  of  the 
American  people;  and  through  one  phase  of 
its  work  alone —  its  Bands  of  Mercy,  over 
twenty-five  thousand  of  which  have  already 
been  formed,  giving  regular,  systematic  hu- 
mane training  and  instruction  to  between  one 
and  two  million  children,  and  these  continu- 
ally increasing  in  numbers  —  a  most  vital  work 
is  being  done,  such  as  no  man  can  estimate. 

The  humane  sentiment  inculcated  in  one's 
relations  with  the  animal  world,  and  its  result- 
ant feelings  of  sympathy,  tenderness,  love, 
and  care,  will  inevitably  manifest  itself  in 
one's  relations  with  his  fellows;  and  I  for 
one,  would  rejoice  to  see  this  work  carried 
into  every  school  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land.  In  many  cases  this  one 
phase  of  the  child's  training  would  be  of  far 
more  vital  value  and  import  as  he  grows  to 
manhood  than  all  the  rest  of  the  schooling 
combined,  and  it  would  form  a  most  vital  en- 
tering wedge  in  the  solution  of  our  social  situ- 
ation. 

And  why  should  we  not  speak  to  and  kindly 
greet  an  animal  as  we  pass  it,  as  instinctively 
as  we  do  a  human  fellow-being?  Though  it 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING        91 

may  not  get  our  words,  it  will  invariably  get 
the  attitude  and  the  motive  that  prompts 
them,  and  will  be  affected  accordingly.  This 
it  will  do  every  time.  Animals  in  general 
are  marvellously  sensitive  to  the  mental  con- 
ditions, the  thought  forces,  and  emotions  of 
people.  Some  are  peculiarly  sensitive,  and 
can  detect  them  far  more  quickly  and  uner- 
ringly than  many  people  can. 

It  ought  to  help  us  greatly  in  our  relations 
with  them  ever  fully  to  realize  that  they  with 
us  are  parts  of  the  one  Universal  Life,  simply 
different  forms  of  the  manifestation  of  the 
One  Life,  having  their  part  to  play  in  the 
economy  of  the  great  universe  the  same  as  we 
have  ours,  having  their  destiny  to  work  out 
the  same  as  we  have  ours,  and  just  as  impor- 
tant, just  as  valuable,  in  the  sight  of  the  All 
in  All  as  we  ourselves. 

"I  saw  deep  in  the  eyes  of  the  animals  the 
human  soul  look  out  upon  me. 

"I  saw  where  it  was  born  deep  down  under 
feathers  and  fur,  or  condemned  for  a  while  to 
roam  four-footed  among  the  brambles.  I 
caught  the  clinging  mute  glance  of  the  pris- 
oner, and  swore  I  would  be  faithful. 

"Thee  my  brother  and  sister  I  see,  and 
mistake  not.  Do  not  be  afraid.  Dwelling 


92         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

thus  for  a  while,  fulfilling  thy  appointed  time, 
thou,  too,  shall  come  to  thyself  at  last. 

"Thy  half- warm  horns  and  long  tongue  lap- 
ping round  my  wrist  do  not  conceal  thy  hu- 
manity any  more  than  the  learned  talk  of  the 
pedant  conceals  his, —  for  all  thou  art  dumb, 
we  have  words  and  plenty  between  us. 

"Come  nigh,  little  bird,  with  your  half- 
stretched  quivering  wings, —  within  you  I  be- 
hold choirs  of  angels,  and  the  Lord  himself 
in  vista. "  * 

But  a  small  thing,  apparently,  is  a  kind 
look,  word,  or  service  of  some  kind ;  but,  oh ! 
who  can  tell  where  it  may  end?  It  costs  the 
giver  comparatively  nothing;  but  who  can  tell 
the  priceless  value  to  him  who  receives  it? 
The  cup  of  loving  service,  be  it  merely  a  cup  of 
cold  water,  may  grow  and  swell  into  a  bound- 
less river,  refreshing  and  carrying  life  and 
hope  in  turn  to  numberless  others,  and  these 
to  others,  and  so  have  no  end.  This  may  be 
just  the  critical  moment  in  some  life.  Given 
now,  it  may  save  or  change  a  life  or  a  destiny. 
So  don't  withhold  the  bread  that's  in  your 
keeping,  but 

"  Scatter  it  with  willing   fingers,  shout   for  joy  to  see 
it  go." 

•Toward  Democracy. 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING         93 

There  is  no  greater  thing  in  life  that  you 
can  do,  and  nothing  that  will  bring  you  such 
rich  and  precious  returns. 

v  The  question  is  sometimes  asked,  How  can 
one  feel  a  deep  and  genuine  love,  a  love  suffi- 
cient to  manifest  itself  in  service  for  all  ?  — 
there  are  some  so  mean,  so  small,  with  so 
many  peculiar,  objectionable,  or  even  obnox- 
ious characteristics.  True,  very  true,  appar- 
ently at  least ;  but  another  great  law  of  life  is 
that  we  find  in  men  and  women  exactly  those 
qualities,  those  characteristics,  we  look  for,  or 
that  are  nearest  akin  to  the  predominant 
qualities  or  characteristics  of  our  own  natures. 
If  we  look  for  the  peculiar,  the  little,  the  ob- 
jectionable, these  we  shall  find ;  but  back  of 
all  this,  all  that  is  most  apparent  on  the  ex- 
terior, in  the  depths  of  each  and  every  human 
soul,  is  the  good,  the  true,  the  brave,  the 
loving,  the  divine,  the  God-like,  that  that 
never  changes,  the  very  God  Himself  that  at 
some  time  or  another  will  show  forth  His 
full  likeness. 

And  still  another  law  of  life  is  that  others 
usually  manifest  to  us  that  which  our  own 
natures,  or,  in  other  words,  our  own  thoughts 
and  emotions,  call  forth.  The  same  person, 
for  example,  will  come  to  two  different  people 


94         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

in  an  entirely  different  way,  because  the 
larger,  better,  purer,  and  more  universal 
nature  of  the  one  calls  forth  the  best,  the 
noblest,  the  truest  in  him;  while  the  smaller, 
critical,  personal  nature  of  the  other  calls 
forth  the  opposite.  The  wise  man  is  there- 
fore careful  in  regard  to  what  he  has  to  say 
concerning  this  or  that  one;  for,  generally 
speaking,  it  is  a  sad  commentary  upon  one's 
self  if  he  find  only  the  disagreeable,  the  ob- 
jectionable. One  lives  always  in  the  atmos-  . 
phere  of  his  own  creation. 

Again,  it  is  sometimes  said,  But  such  a  one 
has  such  and  such  habits  or  has  done  so  and 
so,  has  committed  such  and  such  an  error  or 
such  and  such  a  crime.  But  who,  let  it 
be  asked,  constituted  me  a  judge  of  my  fellow- 
man?  Do  I  not  recognize  the  fact  that  the 
moment  I  judge  my  fellow-man,  by  that  very 
act  I  judge  myself?  One  of  two  things,  I 
either  judge  myself  or  hypocritically  profess 
that  never  once  in  my  entire  life  have  I  com- 
mitted a  sin,  an  error  of  any  kind,  never  have 
I  stumbled,  never  fallen,  and  by  that  very  pro- 
fession I  pronounce  myself  at  once  either  a 
fool  or  a  knave,  or  both. 

Again,  it  is  said,  But  even  for  the  sake  of 
helping,  of  doing  some  service,  I  could  not 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING         95 

for  my  own  sake,  for  character's,  for  reputa- 
tion's sake,  I  could  not  afford  even  to  be  seen 
with  such  a  one.  What  would  people,  what 
would  my  friends,  think  and  say?  True,  ap- 
parently at  least,  but,  if  my  life,  my  character, 
has  such  a  foundation,  a  foundation  so  weak, 
so  uncertain,  so  tottering,  as  to  be  affected  by 
anything  of  this  kind,  I  had  better  then  look 
well  to  it,  and  quietly,  quickly,  but  securely, 
begin  to  rebuild  it ;  and,  when  I  am  sure  that 
it  is  upon  the  true,  deep,  substantial  founda- 
tion, the  only  additional  thing  then  necessary 
is  for  me  to  reach  that  glorious  stage  of  de- 
velopment which  quickly  gets  one  out  of  the 
personal  into  the  universal,  or  rather  that  in- 
dicates that  he  is  already  out  of  the  one  and 
into  the  other,  when  he  can  say:  They  think. 
What  do  they  think?  Let  them  think.  They 
say.  What  do  they  say?  Let  them  say. 

And,  then,  the  supreme  charity  one  should 
have,  when  he  realizes  the  fact  that  the  great 
bulk  of  the  sin  and  error  in  the  world  is  com- 
mitted not  through  choice,  but  through  igno- 
rance. Not  that  the  person  does  not  know 
many  times  that  this  or  that  course  of  action 
is  wrong,  that  it  is  wrong  to  commit  this 
error  or  sin  or  crime;  but  the  ignorance  comes 
in  his  belief  that  in  this  course  of  conduct  he 


96         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

is  deriving  pleasure  and  happiness,  and  his 
ignorance  of  the  fact  that  through  a  different 
course  of  conduct  he  would  derive  a  pleasure, 
a  happiness,  much  keener,  higher,  more  satis- 
fying and  enduring. 

Never  should  we  forget  that  we  are  all  the 
same  in  motive, —  pleasure  and  happiness: 
we  differ  only  in  method ;  and  this  difference 
in  method  is  solely  by  reason  of  some  souls 
being  at  any  particular  time  more  fully 
evolved,  and  thus  having  a  greater  knowledge 
of  the  great,  immutable  laws  under  which  we 
live,  and  by  putting  the  life  into  more  and 
ever  more  complete  harmony  with  these 
higher  laws  and  forces,  and  in  this  way  bring- 
ing about  the  highest,  the  keenest,  the  most 
abiding  pleasure  and  happiness  instead  of 
seeking  it  on  the  lower  planes. 

While  all  are  the  same  in  essence,  all  a 
part  of  the  One  Infinite,  Eternal,  all  with  the 
same  latent  possibilities,  all  reaching  ulti- 
mately the  same  place,  it  nevertheless  is  true 
that  at  any  particular  time  some  are  more  fully 
awakened,  evolved,  unfolded.  One  should 
also  be  careful,  if  life  is  continuous,  eternal, 
how  he  judges  any  particular  life  merely  from 
these  threescore  years  and  ten;  for  the  very 
fact  of  life,  in  whatever  form,  means  contin- 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING         97 

ual  activity,  growth,  advancement,  unfold- 
ment,  attainment,  and,  if  there  is  the  one, 
there  must  of  necessity  be  the  other.  So  in 
regard  to  this  one  or  that  one,  no  fears  need 
be  entertained. 

By  the  door  of  my  woodland  cabin  stood 
during  the  summer  a  magnificent  tube-rose 
stock.  The  day  was  when  it  was  just  putting 
into  bloom ;  and  then  I  counted  buds  —  latent 
flowers  —  to  the  number  of  over  a  score. 
Some  eight  or  ten  one  morning  were  in  full 
bloom.  The  ones  nearer  the  top  did  not 
bloom  forth  until  some  two  and  three  weeks 
later,  and  for  some  it  took  quite  a  month  to 
reach  the  fully  perfected  stage.  These  cer- 
tainly were  not  so  beautiful,  so  satisfying,  as 
those  already  in  the  perfect  bloom,  those  that 
had  already  reached  their  highest  perfection. 
But  should  they  on  this  account  be  despised? 
Wait,  wait  and  give  the  element  of  time  an 
opportunity  of  doing  its  work;  and  you  may 
find  that  by  and  by,  when  these  have  reached 
their  highest  perfection,  they  may  even  far 
transcend  in  beauty  and  in  fragrance  those  at 
present  so  beautiful,  so  fragrant,  so  satisfy- 
ing, those  that  we  so  much  admire. 

Here   we    recognize    the  element    of    time. 
How  foolish,    how  childish,    how  puerile,   to 


98         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

fail  or  even  refuse  to  do  the  same  when  it 
comes  to  the  human  soul,  with  all  its  God- 
like possibilities!  And,  again,  how  foolish, 
because  some  of  the  blooms  on  the  rose  stock 
had  not  reached  their  perfection  as  soon  as 
others,  to  have  pronounced  them  of  no  value, 
unworthy,  and  to  have  refused  them  the  dews, 
the  warm  rains,  the  life-giving  sunshine,  the 
very  agencies  that  hastened  their  perfected 
growth!  Yet  this  puerile,  unbalanced  atti- 
tude is  that  taken  by  untold  numbers  in  the 
world  to-day  toward  many  human  souls  on  ac- 
count of  their  less  mature  unfoldment  at  any 
given  time. 

Why,  the  very  fact  that  a  fellow -man  and  a 
brother  has  this  or  that  fault,  error,  unde- 
sirable or  objectionable  characteristic,  is  of 
itself  the  very  reason  he  needs  all  the  more  of 
charity,  of  love,  of  kindly  help  and  aid,  than 
is  needed  by  the  one  more  fully  developed, 
and  hence  more  free  from  these.  All  the 
more  reason  is  there  why  the  best  in  him 
should  be  recognized  and  ever  called  to  the 
front. 

The  wise  man  is  he  who,  when  he  desires 
to  rid  a  room  of  darkness  or  gloom,  does  not 
attempt  to  drive  it  out  directly,  but  who 
throws  open  the  doors  and  the  windows,  that 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING         99 

the  room  may  be  flooded  with  the  golden  sun- 
light; for  in  its  presence  darkness  and  gloom 
cannot  remain.  So  the  way  to  help  a  fellow- 
man  and  a  brother  to  the  higher  and  better 
life  is  not  by  ever  prating  upon  and  holding 
up  to  view  his  errors,  his  faults,  his  shortcom- 
ings, any  more  than  in  the  case  of  children, 
but  by  recognizing  and  ever  calling  forth  the 
higher,  the  nobler,  the  divine,  the  God-like, 
by  opening  the  doors  and  the  windows  of  his 
-own  soul,  and  thus  bringing  about  a  spiritual 
perception,  that  he  may  the  more  carefully 
listen  to  the  inner  voice,  that  he  may  the 
more  carefully  follow  "the  light  that  lighteth 
every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world. "  For 
in  the  exact  proportion  that  the  interior  per- 
ception comes  will  the  outer  life  and  conduct 
accord  with  it, —  so  far,  and  no  farther. 

Where  in  all  the  world's  history  is  to  be 
found  a  more  beautiful  or  valuable  incident 
than  this?  A  group  of  men,  self-centred, 
self-assertive,  have  found  a  poor  woman  who, 
in  her  blindness  and  weakness,  has  com- 
mitted an  error,  the  same  one  that  they,  in 
all  probability,  have  committed  not  once,  but 
many  times;  for  the  rule  is  that  they  are  first 
to  condemn  who  are  most  at  fault  themselves. 
They  bring  her  to  the  Master,  they  tell  him 


IOO      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

that  she  has  committed  a  sin, —  ay,  more,  that 
she  has  been  taken  in  the  very  act, —  and  ask 
what  shall  be  done  with  her,  informing  him 
that,  in  accordance  with  the  olden  laws,  such 
a  one  should  be  stoned. 

But,  quicker  than  thought,  that  great  incar- 
nation of  spiritual  power  and  insight  reads 
their  motives ;  and,  after  allowing  them  to  give 
full  expression  to  their  accusations,  he  turns, 
and  calmly  says,  "  He  among  you  that  is  with- 
out sin,  let  him  cast  the  first  stone."  So  say- 
ing, he  stoops  down,  as  if  he  is  writing  in 
the  sand.  The  accusers,  feeling  the  keen  and 
just  rebuke,  in  the  mean  time  sneak  out,  until 
not  one  remains.  The  Master,  after  all  have 
gone,  turns  to  the  woman,  his  sister,  and 
kindly  and  gently  says,  "And  where  are  thine 
accusers?  doth  no  man  condemn  thee?"  "No 
man,  Lord. "  "  And  neither  do  I  condemn 
thee:  go  thou,  and  sin  no  more"  Oh,  the 
beauty,  the  soul  pathos!  Oh,  the  royal- 
hearted  brother!  Oh,  the  invaluable  lesson 
to  us  all ! 

I  have  no  doubt  that  this  gentle,  loving  ad- 
monition, this  calling  of  the  higher  and  the 
better  to  the  front,  set  into  operation  in  her 
interior  nature  forces  that  hastened  her  prog- 
ress from  the  purely  animal,  the  unsatisfying, 


WHAT   ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING      IOI 

the  diminishing,  to  the  higher  spiritual,  the 
satisfying,  the  ever-increasing,  or,  even  more, 
that  made  it  instantaneous,  but  that  in  either 
case  brought  about  the  new  birth,  —  the  new 
birth  that  comes  with  the  awakening  of  the 
soul  out  of  its  purely  physical  sense-life 
to  the  higher  spiritual  perception  and  knowl- 
edge of  itself,  and  thus  the  birth  of  the  higher 
out  of  the  lower,  as  at  some  time  or  another 
comes  to  each  and  every  human  soul. 

And  still  another  fact  that  should  make  us 
most  charitable  toward  and  slow  to  judge,  or 
rather  refuse  to  judge,  a  fellow-man  and  a 
brother,  —  the  fact  that  we  cannot  know  the 
intense  strugglings  and  fightings  he  or  she 
may  be  subjected  to,  though  accompanied,  it 
is  true,  by  numerous  stumblings  and  fallings, 
though  the  latter  we  see,  while  the  former  we 
fail  to  recognize.  Did  we,  however,  know  the 
truth  of  the  matter,  it  may  be  that  in  the  case 
of  ourselves,  who  are  so  quick  to  judge,  had 
we  the  same  temptations  and  fightings,  the 
battle  would  not  be  half  so  nobly,  so  manfully 
fought,  and  our  stumblings  and  fallings  might 
be  many  times  the  number  of  his  or  of  hers. 
Had  we  infinite  knowledge  and  wisdom,  our 
judgments  would  be  correct;  though,  had  we 
infinite  knowledge  and  wisdom,  we  would  be 


IO2      WHAT   ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

spared  the  task,  though  perhaps  pleasure 
would  seem  to  be  the  truer  word  to  use,  of 
our  own  self-imposed  judgments. 

Even  so,  then,  if  I  cannot  give  myself  in 
thorough  love  and  service  and  self-devotion 
to  each  and  all  of  the  Father's  other  children, 
to  every  brother,  no  matter  what  the  rank, 
station,  or  apparent  condition,  it  shows  that 
at  least  one  of  several  things  is  radically 
wrong  with  self;  and  it  also  indicates  that  I 
shall  never  know  the  full  and  supreme  joy  of 
existence  until  I  am  able  to  and  until  I  regard 
each  case  in  the  light  of  a  rare  and  golden  op- 
portunity, in  which  I  take  a  supreme  delight. 

Although  what  has  just  been  said  is  true, 
at  the  same  time  there  are  occasions  when  it 
must  be  taken  with  wise  discretion;  and,  al- 
though there  are  things  it  may  be  right  for  me 
to  do  for  the  sake  of  helping  another  life,  at 
the  same  time  there  are  things  it  may  be  un- 
wise for  me  to  do.  I  have  sympathy  for  a 
friend  who  is  lying  in  the  gutter;  but  it  would 
be  very  unwise  for  me  to  get  myself  into  the 
same  condition,  and  go  and  lie  with  him, 
thinking  that  only  thus  I  could  show  my  full- 
est sympathy,  and  be  of  greatest  help  to  him. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  only  as  I  stand  on  the 
higher  ground  that  I  am  able  to  reach  forth 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING       1 03 

the  hand  that  will  truly  lift  him  up.  The 
moment  I  sink  myself  to  the  same  level,  my 
power  to  help  ceases. 

Just  as  unwise,  to  use  a  familiar  example, 
far  more  unwise,  would  it  be  for  me,  were  I  a 
woman,  to  think  of  marrying  a  man  who  is  a 
drunkard  or  a  libertine,  thinking  that  because 
I  may  love  him  I  shall  be  able  to  reform  him. 
In  the  first  place,  I  should  find  that  the  de- 
sired results  could  not  be  accomplished  in  this 
way,  or,  rather,  no  results  that  could  not  be  ac- 
complished, and  far  more  readily  accomplished 
otherwise,  and  at  far  less  expense.  In  the 
second  place,  I  could  not  afford  to  subject  my- 
self to  the  demands,  the  influences,  of  one 
such,  and  so  either  sink  myself  to  his  level 
or,  if  not,  then  be  compelled  to  use  the  greater 
part  of  my  time,  thought,  and  energy  in  dem- 
onstrating over  existing  conditions,  and  keep- 
ing myself  true  to  the  higher  life,  the  same 
time  that  might  be  used  in  helping  the  lives 
of  many  others.  If  I  sink  myself  to  his 
level,  I  do  not  help,  but  aid  all  the  more  in 
dragging  him  down,  or,  if  I  do  not  sink  to  his 
level,  then  in  the  degree  that  I  approach  it  do 
I  lose  my  power  over  and  influence  with  that 
life.  Especially  would  it  be  unwise  on  my 
part  if  on  his  part  there  is  no  real  desire  for  a 


1O4      WHAT   ALL    THE    WORLD  S   A-SEEKING 

different  course,  and  no  manifest  endeavor  to 
attain  to  it.  Many  times  it  seems  necessary 
for  such  a  one  to  wallow  in  the  deepest  of  the 
mire,  until,  to  use  a  commonplace  phrase,  he 
has  his  fill.  He  will  then  be  ready  to  come 
out,  will  then  be  open  to  influence.  I  in  the 
mean  time,  instead  of  entering  into  the  mire 
with  him,  instead  of  subjecting  my  life  to  his 
influences,  will  stand  up  on  the  higher  ground, 
and  will  ever  point  him  upward,  will  ever 
reach  forth  a  hand  to  help  him  upward,  and 
will  thus  subject  him  to  the  higher  influences; 
and,  by  preserving  myself  in  this  attitude,  I 
can  do  the  same  for  many  other  lives.  In  it 
all  there  will  be  no  bitterness,  no  condemna- 
tion, no  casting  off,  but  the  highest  charity, 
sympathy  and  love;  and  it  is  only  by  this 
method  that  I  can  manifest  the  highest,  only 
by  this  method  that  I  can  the  most  truly  aid, 
for  only  as  I  am  lifted  up  can  I  draw  others 
unto  me. 

In  this  matter  of  service,  as  in  all  other 
matters,  that  supreme  regulator  of  human  life 
and  conduct  —  good  common  sense  —  must 
always  be  used.  There  are  some  natures,  for 
example,  whom  the  more  we  would  do  for,  the 
more  we  would  have  to  do  for,  who,  in  other 
words,  would  become  dependent,  losing  their 


WHAT   ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 


sense  of  self-dependence.  For  such  the  high- 
est service  one  can  render  is  as  judiciously 
and  as  indirectly  as  possible  to  lead  them  to 
the  sense  of  self-reliance.  Then  there  are 
others  whose  natures  are  such  that,  the  more 
they  are  helped,  the  more  they  expect,  the 
more  they  demand,  even  as  their  right,  who, 
in  other  words,  are  parasites  or  vultures  of 
the  human  kind.  In  this  case,  again,  the 
greatest  service  that  can  be  rendered  may  be 
a  refusal  of  service,  a  refusal  of  aid  in  the 
ordinary  or  rather  expected  forms,  and  a  still 
greater  service  in  the  form  of  teaching  them 
that  great  principle  of  justice,  of  compensa- 
tion, that  runs  through  all  the  universe,  — 
that  for  every  service  there  must  be  in  some 
form  or  another  an  adequate  service  in  return, 
that  the  law  of  compensation  in  one  form  or 
another  is  absolute,  and,  in  fact,  the  greatest 
forms  of  service  we  can  render  any  one  are, 
generally  speaking,  along  the  lines  of  teach- 
ing him  the  great  laws  of  his  own  being,  the 
great  laws  of  his  true  possibilities  and  powers, 
and  so  the  great  laws  of  self-help. 

And,  again,  it  is  possible  for  one  whose 
heart  goes  out  in  love  and  service  for  all,  and 
who,  by  virtue  of  lacking  that  long  range  of 
vision  or  by  virtue  of  not  having  a  grasp  of 


IO6      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

things  in  their  entirety  or  wholeness,  may 
have  his  time,  his  energies  so  dissipated  in 
what  seems  to  be  the  highest  service  that  he 
is  continually  kept  from  his  own  highest  un- 
foldment,  powers,  and  possessions,  the  very 
things  that  in  their  completeness  would  make 
him  a  thousand-fold  more  effective  and  power- 
ful in  his  own  life,  and  hence  in  the  life  of 
real  service  and  influence.  And,  in  a  case  of 
this  kind,  many  times  the  mark  of  the  most 
absolute  unselfishness  is  a  strong  and  marked 
selfishness,  which  will  prove  however  to  be  a 
selfishness  only  in  the  seeming. 

The  self  should  never  be  lost  sight  of.  It 
is  the  one  thing  of  supreme  importance,  the 
greatest  factor  even  in  the  life  of  the  greatest 
service.  Being  always  and  necessarily  pre- 
cedes doing:  having  always  and  necessarily 
precedes  giving.  But  this  law  also  holds: 
that  when  there  is  the  being,  it  is  all  the 
more  increased  by  the  doing;  when  there  is 
the  having,  it  is  all  the  more  increased  by  the 
giving.  Keeping  to  one's  self  dwarfs  and 
stultifies.  Hoarding  brings  loss :  using  brings 
even  greater  gain.  In  brief,  the  more  we  are, 
the  more  we  can  do;  the  more  we  have,  the 
more  we  can  give. 

The  most  truly  successful,  the  most  power- 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING      IO/ 

ful  and  valuable  life,  then,  is  the  life  that  is 
first  founded  upon  this  great,'  immutable  law 
of  love  and  service,  and  that  then  becomes 
supremely  self-centred, —  supremely  self-cen- 
tred that  it  may  become  all  the  more  su- 
premely unself-centred;  in  other  words,  the 
life  that  looks  well  to  self,  that  there  may  be 
the  ever  greater  self,  in  order  that  there  may 
be  the  ever  greater  service. 


PART   IV. 
THE    AWAKENING 


THE   AWAKENING. 

If  you'd  live  a  religion  that's  noble, 

That's  God-like  and  true, 
A  religion  the  grandest  that  men 

Or  that  angels  can, 
Then  live,  live  the  truth 

Of  the  brother  who  taught  you, 
It's  love  to  God,  service  and  love 

To  the  fellow-man. 

SOCIAL  problems  are  to  be  among  the  great- 
est problems  of  the  generation  just  moving 
on  to  the  stage  of  action.  They,  above  all 
others,  will  claim  the  attention  of  mankind, 
as  they  are  already  claiming  it  across  the 
waters  even  as  at  home.  The  attitude  of  the 
two  classes  toward  each  other,  or  the  separa- 
tion of  the  classes,  will  be  by  far  the  chief 
problem  of  them  all.  Already  it  is  impera- 
tively demanding  a  solution.  Gradually,  as 
the  years  have  passed,  this  separation  has  been 
going  on,  but  never  so  rapidly  as  of  late. 
Each  has  come  to  regard  the  other  as  an  enemy, 
with  no  interests  in  common,  but  rather  that 
what  is  for  the  interests  of  the  one  must  nec- 
essarily be  to  the  detriment  of  the  other. 


112      WHAT    ALL    THE   WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

The  great  masses  of  the  people,  the  working 
classes,  those  who  as  much,  if  not  more  than 
many  others  ought  to  be  there,  are  not  in  our 
churches  to-day.  They  already  feel  that  they 
are  not  wanted  there,  and  that  the  Church  even 
is  getting  to  be  their  enemy.  There  must  be 
a  reason  for  this,  for  it  is  impossible  to  have 
an  effect  without  its  preceding  cause.  It  is 
indeed  time  to  waken  up  to  these  facts  and 
conditions;  for  they  must  be  squarely  met. 
A  solution  is  imperatively  demanded,  and  the 
sooner  it  comes,  the  better;  for,  if  allowed  to 
continue  thus,  all  will  come  back  to  be  paid 
for,  intensified  a  thousand-fold, —  ay,  to  be 
paid  for  even  by  many  innocent  ones. 

Let  this  great  principle  of  service,  helpful- 
ness, love,  and  self-devotion  to  the  interests 
of  one's  fellow-men  be  made  the  fundamental 
principle  of  all  lives,  and  see  how  simplified 
these  great  and  all-important  questions  will 
become.  Indeed,  they  will  almost  solve  them- 
selves. It  is  the  man  all  for  self,  so  small  and 
so  short  sighted  that  he  can't  get  beyond  his 
own  selfish  interests,  that  has  done  more  to 
bring  about  this  state  of  affairs  than  all  other 
causes  combined.  Let  the  cause  be  removed, 
and  then  note  the  results. 

For  many  years  it  has  been  a  teaching  even 


WHAT    ALL   THE   WORLDS    A-SEEKING      113 

of  political  economy  that  an  employer  buys 
his  help  just  as  he  buys  his  raw  material  or 
any  other  commodity;  and  this  done,  he  is  in 
no  way  responsible  for  the  welfare  of  those  he 
employs.  In  fact,  the  time  isn't  so  far  dis- 
tant when  the  employed  were  herded  together 
as  animals,  and  were  treated  very  much  as 
such.  But,  thanks  be  to  God,  a  better  and  a 
brighter  day  is  dawning.  Even  the  employer 
is  beginning  to  see  that  practical  ethics,  or 
true  Christianity,  and  business  cannot  and 
must  not  be  divorced ;  that  the  man  he  em- 
ploys, instead  of  being  a  mere  animal  whose 
services  he  buys,  is,  after  all  his  fellow-man 
and  his  brother,  and  demands  a  treatment  as 
such,  and  that  when  he  fails  to  recognize  this 
truth,  a  righteous  God  steps  in,  demanding  a 
penalty  for  its  violation. 

He  is  recognizing  the  fact  that  whatsoever 
is  for  the  well-being  of  the  one  he  employs, 
that  whatever  privileges  he  is  enabled  to  enjoy 
that  will  tend  to  grow  and  develop  his  physi- 
cal, his  mental,  and  his  moral  life,  that  will 
give  him  an  agreeable  home  and  pleasant  fam- 
ily relations,  that  whatever  influences  tend 
to  elevate  him  and  to  make  his  life  more 
happy,  are  a  direct  gain,  even  from  a  financial 
standpoint  for  himself,  by  its  increasing  for 


114      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING 

him  the  efficiency  of  the  man's  labor.  It  is 
already  recognized  as  a  fact  that  the  employer 
who  interests  himself  in  these  things,  other 
things  being  equal,  is  the  most  successful. 
Thus  the  old  and  the  false  are  breaking  away 
before  the  right  and  the  true,  as  all  inevitably 
must  sooner  or  later ;  and  the  divinity  and  the 
power  of  the  workingman  is  being  ever  more 
fully  recognized. 

In  the  very  remote  history  of  the  race  there 
was  one  who,  violating  a  great  law,  having 
wronged  a  brother,  asked,  "Am  I  my  brother's 
keeper?"  Knowing  that  he  was,  he  never- 
theless deceitfully  put  the  question  in  this 
way  in  his  desire,  if  possible,  to  avoid  the 
responsibility.  Many  employers  in  their  self- 
ishness and  greed  for  gain  have  asked  this 
same  question  in  this  same  way.  They  have 
thought  they  could  thus  defeat  the  sure  and 
eternal  laws  of  a  Just  Ruler,  but  have  thereby 
deceived  themselves  the  more.  These  more 
than  any  others  have  to  a  great  degree  brought 
about  the  present  state  of  affairs  in  the  indus- 
trial and  social  world. 

Just  as  soon  as  the  employer  recognizes  the 
falsity  of  these  old  teachings  and  practices, 
and  the  fact  that  he  cannot  buy  his  employee's 
services  the  same  as  he  buys  his  raw  material, 


WHAT   ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING       11$ 

with  no  further  responsibility,  but  that  the 
two  are  on  vastly  different  planes,  that  his 
employee  is  his  fellow-man  and  his  brother, 
and  that  he  is  his  brother's  keeper,  and  will 
be  held  responsible  as  such,  that  it  is  to  his 
own  highest  interests,  as  well  as  to  the  high- 
est interests  of  those  he  employs  and  to  so- 
ciety in  general,  to  recognize  this;  and  just 
as  soon  as  he  who  is  employed  fully  appre- 
ciates his  opportunities  and  makes  the  highest 
use  of  all,  and  in  turn  takes  an  active,  per- 
sonal interest  in  all  that  pertains  to  his  em- 
ployer's welfare,  —  just  that  soon  will  a  solu- 
tion of  this  great  question  come  forth,  and  no 
sooner. 

It  is  not  so  much  a  question  of  legislation 
as  of  education  and  right  doing,  thus  a  deal- 
ing with  the  individual,  and  so  a  prevention 
and  a  cure,  not  merely  a  suppression  and  a 
regulation,  which  is  always  sure  to  fail;  for, 
in  a  case  of  right  or  wrong  no  question  ;s  ever 
settled  finally  until  it  is  settled  rightly. 

The  individual,  dealing  with  the  individual 
is  necessarily  at  the  bottom  of  all  true  social 
progress.  There  can't  be  anything  worthy 
the  name  without  it.  The  truth  will  at  once 
be  recognized  by  all  that  the  good  of  the  whole 
depends  upon  the  good  of  each,  and  the  good  of 


Il6      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD*S    A-SEEKING 

each  makes  the  good  of  the  whole.  Attend, 
then,  to  the  individual,  and  the  whole  will 
take  care  of  itself.  Let  each  individual  work 
in  harmony  with  every  other,  and  harmony 
will  pervade  the  whole.  The  old  theory  of 
competition  —  that  in  order  to  have  great 
advancement,  great  progress,  we  must  have 
great  competition  to  induce  it  —  is  as  false  as 
it  is  savage  and  detrimental  in  its  nature. 
We  are  just  reaching  that  point  where  the 
larger  men  and  women  are  beginning  to  see 
its  falsity.  They  are  recognizing  the  fact 
that,  not  competition,  but  co-operation,  reciproc- 
ity, is  the  great,  the  true  power, —  to  climb, 
not  by  attempting  to  drag,  to  keep  down  one's 
fellows,  but  by  aiding  them,  and  being  in 
turn  aided  by  them,  thus  combining,  and  so 
multiplying  the  power  of  all  instead  of  wast- 
ing a  large  part  one  against  the  other. 

And  grant  that  a  portion  do  succeed  in  ris- 
ing, while  the  other  portion  remain  in  the 
lower  condition,  it  is  of  but  little  value  so  far 
as  their  own  peace  and  welfare  are  concerned ; 
for  they  can  never  be  what  they  would  be,  were 
all  up  together.  Each  is  but  a  part,  a  mem- 
ber, of  the  great  civil  body;  and  no  member, 
let  alone  the  entire  body,  can  be  perfectly 
well,  perfectly  at  ease,  when  any  other  part  is 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING       1 1/ 

in  dis-ease.  No  one  part  of  the  community, 
no  one  part  of  the  nation,  can  stand  alone: 
all  are  dependent,  interdependent.  This  is 
the  uniform  teaching  of  history  from  the  re- 
motest times  in  the  past  right  through  to  the 
present.  A  most  admirable  illustration  of 
this  fact  —  if  indeed  the  word  "admirable" 
can  be  used  in  connection  with  a  matter  so  de- 
plorable —  was  the  unparalleled  labor  trouble 
we  had  in  our  great  Western  city  but  a  few 
summers  ago.  The  wise  man  is  he  who 
learns  from  experiences  of  this  terrific  nature. 

No,  not  until  this  all-powerful  principle  is 
fully  recognized,  and  is  built  upon  so  thor- 
oughly that  the  brotherhood  principle,  the 
principle  of  oneness  can  enter  in,  and  each 
one  recognizes  the  fact  that  his  own  interests 
and  welfare  depend  upon  the  interests,  the 
welfare  of  each,  and  therefore  of  all,  that  each 
is  but  a  part  of  the  one  great  whole,  and  each 
one  stands  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  the  advance 
forward,  can  we  hope  for  any  true  solution  of 
the  great  social  problems  before  us,  for  any 
permanent  elevation  of  the  standard  in  our 
national  social  life  and  welfare. 

This  same  principle  is  the  solution,  and  the 
only  true  solution,  of  the  charities  question,  as 
indeed  the  whole  world  during  the  last  few 


I  1 8       WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

years  or  so,  and  during  this  time  only,  is  be* 
ginning  to  realize.  And  the  splendid  and  effi- 
cient work  of  the  organized  charities  in  all 
our  large  cities,  as  of  the  Elberfeld  system  in 
Germany,  is  attesting  the  truth  of  this.  Al- 
most numberless  methods  have  been  tried  dur- 
ing the  past,  but  all  have  most  successfully 
failed;  and  many  have  greatly  increased  the 
wretched  condition  of  matters,  and  of  those  it 
was  designed  to  help.  During  this  length  of 
time  only  have  these  all-important  questions 
been  dealt  with  in  a  true,  scientific,  Christ- 
like,  common-sense  way.  It  has  been  found 
even  here  that  nothing  can  take  the  place  of 
the  personal  and  friendly  influences  of  a  life 
built  upon  this  principle  of  service. 

The  question  of  aiding  the  poor  and  needy 
has  passed  through  three  distinct  phases  of 
development  in  the  world's  history.  In  early 
times  it  was,  "Each  one  for  himself,  and  the 
devil  take  the  hindmost."  From  the  time  of 
the  Christ,  and  up  to  the  last  few  years  it  has 
been,  "  Help  others."  Now  it  is,  "  Help  others 
to  help  themselves"  The  wealthy  society  lady 
going  down  Fifth  Avenue  in  New  York,  or 
Michigan  Avenue  in  Chicago,  or  Charles  Street 
in  Baltimore,  or  Commonwealth  Avenue  in 
Boston,  who  flings  a  coin  to  one  asking 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 


alms,  is  not  the  one  who  is  doing  a  true  act 
of  charity;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  she  may 
be  doing  the  one  she  thus  gives  to  and 
to  society  in  general  much  more  harm  than 
good,  as  is  many  times  the  case.  It  is  but 
a  cheap,  a  very  cheap  way  of  buying  ease 
for  her  sympathetic  nature  or  her  sense  of 
duty.  Never  let  the  word  "charity,"  which 
always  includes  the  elements  of  interested  ser- 
vice, true  helpfulness,  kindliness,  and  love,  be 
debased  by  making  it  a  synonym  of  mere  giv- 
ing, which  may  mean  the  flinging  of  a  quarter 
in  scorn  or  for  show. 

Recognizing  the  great  truth  that  the  best  and 
only  way  to  help  another  is  to  help  him  to 
help  himself,  and  that  the  neglected  classes 
need  not  so  much  alms  as  friends,  the  Organ- 
ized Charities  with  their  several  branches  in 
different  parts  of  the  city  have  their  staffs  of 
"friendly  visitors,"  almost  all  voluntary,  and 
from  some  of  the  best  homes  in  the  land. 
Then  when  a  case  of  need  comes  to  the  notice 
of  the  society,  one  of  these  goes  to  the  person 
or  family  as  a  friend  to  investigate,  to  find 
what  circumstances  have  brought  about  these 
conditions,  and,  if  found  worthy  of  aid, 
present  needs  are  supplied,  an  effort  is  made 
to  secure  work,  and  every  effort  is  made  to 


I2O      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING 

put  them  on  their  feet  again,  that  self-respect 
may  be  regained,  that  hope  may  enter  in;  for 
there  is  scarcely  anything  that  tends  to  make 
one  lose  his  self-respect  so  quickly  and  so 
completely  as  to  be  compelled,  or  of  his  own 
accord,  to  ask  for  alms. 

It  is  thus  many  times  that  a  new  life  is 
entered  upon,  brightness  and  hope  taking  the 
place  of  darkness  and  despair.  This  is  not 
the  only  call  the  friendly  visitor  makes; 
but  he  or  she  becomes  a  true  friend,  and 
makes  regular  visits  as  such.  If  by  this 
method  the  one  seeking  charity  is  found  to  be 
an  impostor,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  proper 
means  of  exposure  are  resorted  to,  that  his  or 
her  progress  in  this  course  may  be  stopped. 
The  organizations  are  thus  doing  a  most  valu- 
able work,  and  one  that  will  become  more  and 
more  valuable  as  they  are  enabled  to  become 
better  organized,  the  greatest  need  to-day 
being  more  with  the  true  spirit  to  act  as  visit- 
ing friends. 

It  is  this  same  great  principle  that  has  given 
birth  to  our  college  and  university  settle- 
ments and  our  neighborhood  guilds  which  are 
so  rapidly  increasing,  and  which  are  destined 
to  do  a  great  and  efficient  work.  Here  a 
small  colony  of  young  women,  many  from  our 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING       121 

best  homes,  and  the  ablest  graduates  of  our 
best  colleges,  and  young  men,  many  of  them 
the  ablest  graduates  of  our  best  universities, 
take  up  their  abode  in  the  poorest  parts  of  our 
large  cities,  to  try  by  their  personal  influence 
and  personal  contact  to  raise  the  surrounding 
life  to  a  higher  plane.  It  is  in  these  ways 
that  the  poor  and  the  unfortunate  are  dealt 
with  directly.  Thus  the  classes  mingle. 
Thus  that  sentimentalism  which  may  do  and 
which  has  done  harm  to  these  great  problems, 
and  by  which  the  people  it  is  designed  to 
help  may  be  hindered  rather  than  helped, 
is  done  away  with.  Thus  true  aid  and  ser- 
vice are  rendered,  and  the  needy  are  really 
helped. 

The  one  whose  life  is  built  upon  this  prin- 
ciple will  not  take  up  work  of  this  kind  as 
a  "fad,"  or  because  it  is  "fashionable,"  but 
because  it  is  right,  true,  Christ-like.  The 
truly  great  and  noble  never  fear  thus  to  mingle 
with  those  poorer  and  less  fortunate.  It  is 
only  those  who  would  like  to  be  counted  as 
great,  but  who  are  too  small  to  be  so  recog- 
nized, and  who,  therefore,  always  thinking  of 
self,  put  forth  every  effort  to  appear  so. 
There  is  no  surer  test  than  this. 


122       WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING 

Very  truly  has  it  been  said  that  "the  great- 
est thing  a  man  can  do  for  God  is  to  be  kind 
to  some  of  His  other  children."  All  children 
of  the  same  Father,  therefore  all  brothers, 
sisters.  Man  is  next  to  God.  Man  is  God 
incarnate.  Humanity,  therefore,  cannot  be 
very  far  from  being  next  to  godliness.  Many 
people  there  are  who  are  greatly  concerned 
about  serving  God,  as  they  term  it.  Their 
idea  is  to  build  great  edifices  with  costly  or- 
naments to  Him.  A  great  deal  of  their  time 
is  spent  in  singing  songs  and  hallelujahs  to 
Him,  just  as  if  He  needed  or  wanted  these  for 
Himself,  forgetting  that  He  is  far  above 
being  benefited  by  anything  that  we  can  say 
or  do,  forgetting  that  He  doesn't  want  these, 
when  for  lack  of  them  some  of  His  children 
are  starving  for  bread  to  eat  or  are  dying  for 
the  bread  of  life. 

Can  you  conceive  of  a  God  who  is  worthy  of 
love  and  service, —  and  I  speak  most  rever- 
ently,—  who  under  such  conditions  would  take 
a  satisfaction  in  these  things?  I  confess  I 
am  not  able  to.  I  can  conceive  of  no  way  in 
which  I  can  serve  God  only  as  I  serve  Him 
through  my  own  life  and  through  the  lives  of 
my  fellow-men.  This,  certainly,  is  the  only 
kind  cf  service  He  needs  or  wants,  or  that 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING 


is  acceptable  to  Him.  At  one  place  we  read, 
"  He  that  says  he  loves  God  and  loves  not  his 
fellow-men,  is  a  liar;  and  the  truth  is  not  in 
him." 

Even  in  religion  I  think  we  shall  find  that 
there  is  nothing  greater  or  more  important 
than  this  great  principle  of  service,  helpful- 
ness, kindliness,  and  love.  Is  not  Christian- 
ity, you  ask,  greater  or  more  important? 
Why,  bless  you,  is  this  any  other  than  Chris- 
tianity, is  Christianity  any  other  than  this,  — 
at  least,  if  we  take  what  the  Master  Teacher 
himself  has  said?  For  what,  let  us  ask,  is  a 
Christian,  —  the  real,  not  merely  in  name?  A 
follower  of  Christ,  one  who  does  as  he  did, 
one  who  lives  as  he  lived.  And,  again,  who 
was  Christ?  He  that  healed  the  sick,  clothed 
the  naked,  bound  up  the  broken-hearted,  sus- 
tained and  encouraged  the  weak,  the  faltering, 
befriended  and  aided  the  poor,  the  needy,  con- 
demned the  proud  and  the  selfish,  taught  the 
people  to  live  nobly,  truly,  grandly,  to  live  in 
their  higher,  diviner  selves,  that  the  greatest 
among  them  should  be  their  servant,  and  that 
his  followers  were  those  who  lived  as  he 
lived.  He  spent  all  his  time  in  the  service 
of  humanity.  He  gave  his  whole  life  in  this 
way.  He  it  was  who  went  about  doing  good. 


1 24      WHAT   ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

Is  it  your  desire  then,  to  be  numbered 
among  his  followers,  to  bear  that  blessed 
name,  the  name  "  Christian "  ?  Then  sit  at 
his  feet,  and  learn  of  him,  love  him,  do  as 
he  did,  as  he  taught  you  to  do,  live  as  he 
lived,  as  he  taught  you  to  live,  and  you  are 
a  Christian,  and  not  unless  you  do.  True 
Christianity  can  be  found  in  no  other  way. 

Naught  is  the  difference  what  one  may  call 
himself;  for  many  call  themselves  by  this 
name  to  whom  Christ  says  it  will  one  day  be 
said,  "  I  never  knew  you :  depart  from  me,  ye 
cursed."  Naught  is  the  difference  what  creeds 
one  may  subscribe  to,  what  rites  and  cere- 
monies he  may  observe,  how  loud  and  how 
numerous  his  professions  may  be.  All  of 
these  are  but  as  a  vain  mockery,  unless  he  is 
a  Christian;  and  to  be  a  Christian  is,  as  we 
have  found,  to  be  a  follower  of  Christ,  to  do 
as  he  did,  to  live  as  he  lived.  Then  live  the 
Christ  life.  Live  so  as  to  become  at  one 
with  God,  and  dwell  continually  in  this 
blessed  at-one-ment.  The  trouble  all  along 
has  been  that  so  many  have  mistaken  the  mere 
person  of  the  Christ,  the  mere  physical  Jesus, 
for  his  life,  his  spirit,  his  teachings,  and  have 
succeeded  in  getting  no  farther  than  this  as 
yet,  except  in  cases  here  and  there. 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING 


Now  and  then  a  rare  soul  rises  up,  one  with 
great  power,  great  inspiration,  and  we  wonder 
at  his  great  power,  his  great  inspiration,  why 
it  is.  When  we  look  deeply  enough,  however, 
we  will  find  that  one  great  fact  will  answer 
the  question  every  time.  It  is  living  the  life 
that  brings  the  power.  He  is  living  the 
Christ  life,  not  merely  standing  afar  off  and 
looking  at  it,  admiring  it,  and  saying,  Yes,  I 
believe,  I  believe,  and  ending  it  there.  In 
other  words,  he  has  found  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  He  has  found  that  it  is  not  a  place, 
but  a  condition;  and  the  song  continually 
arising  from  his  heart  is,  There  is  joy,  only 
joy. 

The  Master,  you  remember,  said:  "Seek  ye 
not  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  in  tabernacles 
or  in  houses  made  with  hands.  Know  ye 
not  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  within 
you?"  He  told  in  plain  words  where  and  how- 
to  find  it.  He  then  told  how  to  find  all  other 
things,  when  he  said,  "  Seek  ye  first  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  and  all  these  other  things 
shall  be  added  unto  you."  Now,  do  you 
wonder  at  his  power,  his  inspiration,  his 
abundance  of  all  things?  The  trouble  with  so 
many  is  that  they  act  as  if  they  do  not  believe 
what  the  Master  said.  They  do  not  take  him 


126     WHAT    ALL    THE   WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

at  his  word.  They  say  one  thing:  they  do 
another.  Their  acts  give  the  lie  to  their 
words.  Instead  of  taking  him  at  his  word, 
and  living  as  if  they  had  faith  in  him,  they 
prefer  to  follow  a  series  of  old,  outgrown, 
man-made  theories,  traditions,  forms,  cere- 
monies, and  seem  to  be  satisfied  with  the  re- 
sults. No,  to  be  a  Christian  is  to  live  the 
Christ  life,  the  life  of  him  who  went  about 
doing  good,  the  life  of  him  who  came  not  to 
be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister. 

We  will  find  that  this  mighty  principle  of 
love  and  service  is  the  greatest  to  live  by  in 
this  life,  and  also  one  of  the  gates  whereby 
all  who  would  must  enter  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. 

Again  we  have  the  Master's  words.  In  his 
own  and  only  description  of  the  last  judgment, 
after  speaking  of  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in 
all  his  glory  and  all  the  holy  angels  with  him, 
of  his  sitting  on  the  throne  of  his  glory  with 
all  nations  gathered  before  him,  of  the  separa- 
tion of  this  gathered  multitude  into  two  parts, 
the  one  on  his  right,  the  other  on  his  left,  he 
says:  "Then  shall  the  King  say  unto  them  on 
his  right  hand,  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father, 
inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world.  For  I  was  an 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING       12? 

hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  meat;  I  was  thirsty, 
and  ye  gave  me  drink;  I  was  a  stranger,  and 
ye  took  me  in;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me;  I 
was  sick,  and  ye  visited  me;  I  was  in  prison, 
and  ye  came  unto  me.  Then  shall  the  right- 
eous answer  him,  saying,  Lord,  when  saw 
we  thee  an  hungered,  and  fed  thee  ?  or  thirsty, 
and  gave  thee  drink?  When  saw  we  thee  a 
stranger,  and  took  thee  in?  or  naked,  and 
clothed  thee?  Or  when  saw  we  thee  sick,  or 
in  prison,  and  came  unto  thee?  And  the  King 
shall  answer,  and  say  unto  them,  Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one 
of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it 
unto  me. 

"Then  shall  he  say  unto  them  on  the  left 
hand,  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed.  For  I 
was  an  hungered,  and  ye  gave  me  no  meat; 
I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  no  drink;  I  was 
a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  not  in;  sick,  and 
in  prison,  and  ye  visited  me  not.  Then  shall 
they  answer  him,  saying,  Lord,  when  saw  we 
thee  an  hungered,  or  athirst,  or  a  stranger, 
or  naked,  or  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  did  not 
minister  unto  thee?  Then  shall  he  answer 
them,  saying,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Inas- 
much as  ye  did  it  not  to  one  of  the  least  of  these, 
ye  did  it  not  to  me. ' ' 


128      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

After  spending  the  greater  portion  of  his 
life  in  many  distant  climes  in  a  fruitless  en- 
deavor to  find  the  Cup  of  the  Holy  Grail,* 
thinking  that  thereby  he  was  doing  the  great- 
est service  he  could  for  God,  Sir  Launfal  at 
last  returns  an  old  man,  gray-haired  and  bent. 
He  finds  that  his  castle  is  occupied  by  others, 
and  that  he  himself  is  an  outcast.  His  cloak 
is  torn;  and  instead  of  the  charger  in  gilded 
trappings  he  was  mounted  upon  when  as  a 
young  man,  he  started  out  with  great  hopes 
and  ambitions,  he  is  afoot  and  leaning  on  a 
staff.  While  sitting  there  and  meditating,  he 
is  met  by  the  same  poor  and  needy  leper  he 
passed  the  morning  he  started,  the  one  who 
in  his  need  asked  for  aid,  and  to  whom  he 
had  flung  a  coin  in  scorn,  as  he  hurried  on 
in  his  eager  desire  to  be  in  the  Master's 
service.  But  matters  are  changed  now,  and 
he  is  a  wiser  man.  Again  the  poor  leper 
says : — 

"  '  For  Christ's  sweet  sake,  I  beg  an  alms  ' ;  — 
The  happy  camels  may  reach  the  spring, 
But  Sir  Launfal  sees  only  the  grewsome  thing, 

* "  According  to  the  mythology  of  the  Romancers,  the  Sangreal,  or 
Holy  Grail,  was  the  cup  out  of  which  Jesus  partook  of  the  Last  Supper  with 
his  disciples.  It  was  brought  into  England  by  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  and 
remained  there,  an  object  of  pilgrimage  and  adoration,  for  many  years  in  the 
keeping  of  his  lineal  descendants.  It  was  incumbent  upon  those  who  had 
charge  of  it  to  be  chaste  in  thought,  word,  and  deed;  but,  one  of  the 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING       I2Q 

The  leper,  lank  as  the  rain-blanched  bone, 
That  cowers  beside  him,  a  thing  as  lone 
And  white  as  the  ice-isles  of  Northern  seas 
In  the  desolate  horror  of  his  disease. 

"And  Sir  Launfal  said:   '  I  behold  in  thee 
An  image  of  Him  who  died  on  the  tree ; 
Thou  also  hast  had  thy  crown  of  thorns, — 
Thou  also  hast  had  the  world's  buffets  and  scorns, — 
And  to  thy  life  were  not  denied 
The  wounds  in  the  hands  and  feet  and  side : 
Mild  Mary's  Son,  acknowledge  me  ; 
Behold,  through  him,  I  give  to  thee ! ' 

"  Then  the  soul  of  the  leper  stood  up  in  his  eyes 

And  looked  at  Sir  Launfal,  and  straightway  he 
Remembered  in  what  a  haughtier  guise 

He  had  flung  an  alms  to  leprosie, 
When  he  girt  his  young  life  up  in  gilded  mail 
And  set  forth  in  search  of  the  Holy  Grail. 
The  heart  within  him  was  ashes  and  dust ; 
He  parted  in  twain  his  single  crust, 
He  broke  the  ice  on  the  streamlet's  brink, 
And  gave  the  leper  to  eat  and  drink, 
'Twas  a  mouldy  crust  of  coarse  brown  bread, 

'Twas  water  out  of  a  wooden  bowl, — 
Yet  with  fine  wheaten  bread  was  the  leper  fed, 

And  'twas  red  wine  he  drank  with  his  thirsty  SOUL 

*•  As  Sir  Launfal  mused  with  a  downcast  face, 
A  light  shone  round  about  the  place ; 

keepers  having  broken  this  condition,  the  Holy  Grail  disappeared.  From 
that  time  it  was  a  favorite  enterprise  of  the  Knights  of  Sir  Arthur's  court  to 
go  in  search  of  it." — James  Russell  Lowell. 


I3O     WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING 

The  leper  no  longer  crouched  at  his  side, 

But  stood  before  him  glorified, 

Shining  and  tall  and  fair  and  straight 

As  the  pillar  that  stood  by  the  Beautiful  Gate, — 

Himself  the  Gate  whereby  men  can 

Enter  the  temple  of  God  in  Man. 

"  And  the  voice  that  was  calmer  than  silence  said, 
'  Lo,  it  is  I,  be  not  afraid  ! 
In  many  climes,  without  avail, 
Thou  hast  spent  thy  life  for  the  Holy  Grail ; 
Behold,  it  is  here, —  this  cup  which  thou 
Didst  fill  at  the  streamlet  for  me  but  now ; 
This  crust  is  my  body  broken  for  thee, 
This  water  His  blood  that  died  on  the  tree ; 
The  Holy  Supper  is  kept,  indeed, 
In  whatso  we  share  with  another's  need ; 
Not  what  we  give,  but  what  we  share, — 
For  the  gift  without  the  giver  is  bare ; 
Who  gives  himself  with  his  alms  feeds  three, — 
Himself,  his  hungering  neighbor,  and  me.' " 

The  fear  is  sometimes  entertained,  and  the 
question  is  sometimes  asked,  May  not  adher- 
ence to  this  principle  of  helpfulness  and  ser- 
vice become  mere  sentimentalism  ?  or  still 
more,  may  it  not  be  the  means  of  lessening 
another's  sense  of  self-dependence,  and  thus 
may  it  not  at  times  do  more  harm  than  good? 
In  reply  let  it  be  said:  If  the  love  which  im- 
pels it  be  a  selfish  love,  or  a  weak  sentimen- 
talism, or  an  effort  at  show,  or  devoid  of  good 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING       1 3  I 

common  sense,  yes,  many  times.  But  if  it 
be  a  strong,  genuine,  unselfish  love,  then  no, 
never.  For,  if  my  love  for  my  fellow-man 
be  the  true  love,  I  can  never  do  anything  that 
will  be  to  his  or  any  one's  else  detriment, — 
nothing  that  will  not  redound  to  his  highest 
ultimate  welfare.  Should  he,  for  example 
come  and  ask  of  me  a  particular  favor,  and 
were  it  clear  to  me  that  granting  it  would  not 
be  for  his  highest  good  ultimately,  then  love 
at  once  resolves  itself  into  duty,  and  compels 
me  to  forbear.  A  true,  genuine,  unselfish 
love  for  one's  fellow-man  will  never  prompt, 
and  much  less  permit,  anything  that  will  not 
result  in  his  highest  ultimate  good.  Ad- 
herence, therefore,  to  this  great  principle  in 
its  truest  sense,  instead  of  being  a  weak  senti- 
mentalism,  is,  we  shall  find,  of  all  practical 
things  the  most  intensely  practical. 

And  a  word  here  in  regard  to  the  test  of 
true  love  and  service,  in  distinction  from  its 
semblance  for  show  or  for  vain  glory.  The 
test  of  the  true  is  this :  that  it  goes  about  and 
does  its  good  work,  it  never  says  anything 
about  it,  but  lets  others  do  the  saying.  It  not 
only  says  nothing  about  it,  but  more,  it  has 
no  desire  to  have  it  known ;  and,  the  truer  it  is, 
the  greater  the  desire  to  have  it  unknown  save 


132      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING 

to  God  and  its  own  true  self.  In  other  words, 
it  is  not  sicklied  o'er  with  a  semi-insane 
desire  for  notoriety  or  vainglory,  and  hence 
never  weakens  itself  nor  harasses  any  one  else 
by  lengthy  recitals  of  its  good  deeds.  It  is 
not  the  professional  good-doing.  It  is  simply 
living  its  natural  life,  open-minded,  open- 
hearted,  doing  each  day  what  its  hands  find  to 
do,  and  in  this  finding  its  own  true  life  and 
joy.  And  in  this  way  it  unintentionally  but 
irresistibly  draws  to  itself  a  praise  the  rarest 
and  divinest  I  know  of, —  the  praise  I  heard 
given  but  a  day  or  two  ago  to  one  who  is 
living  simply  his  own  natural  life  without  any 
conscious  effort  at  anything  else,  the  praise 
contained  in  the  words:  And,  oh,  it  is  beauti- 
ful, the  great  amount  of  good  he  does  and  of 
which  the  world  never  hears. 


PART  V. 
THE    INCOMING 


THE    INCOMING. 

O  dull,   gray  grub,   unsightly  and  noisome,  unable   to 

roam, 

Days  pass,  God's  at  work,  the  slow  chemistry's  going 
on, 

Behold !     Behold ! 

O  brilliant,  buoyant  life,  full  winged,  all  the  heaven's 
thy  home ! 

O  poor,  mean  man,  stumbling  and  falling,  e'en  shamed 

by  a  clod 
Years  pass,  God's   at  work,  spiritual  awakening  has 

come, 

Behold !     Behold ! 

O  regal,  royal  soul,   then   image,  now  the  likeness   of 
God. 

THE  Master  Teacher,  he  who  appeals  most 
strongly  and  comes  nearest  to  us  of  this  west- 
ern civilization,  has  told  us  that  the  whole  and 
the  highest  duty  of  man  is  comprised  in  two 
great,  two  simple  precepts  —  love  to  God  and 
love  to  the  fellow-man.  The  latter  we  have 
already  fully  considered.  We  have  found  that 
in  its  real  and  true  meaning  it  is  not  a  mere 
indefinite  or  sentimental  abstraction,  but  that 
it  is  a  vital,  living  force;  and  in  its  manifesta- 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING 


tion  it  is  life,  it  is  action,  it  is  service.  Let 
us  now  for  a  moment  to  the  other, —  love  to 
God,  which  in  great  measure  however  let  it 
be  said,  has  been  considered  in  dealing  with 
love  to  the  fellow-man.  Let  us  see,  however, 
what  it  in  its  true  and  full  nature  reveals. 

The  question  naturally  arising  at  the  outset 
is,  Who,  what  is  God?  I  think  no  truer,  sub- 
limer  definition  has  ever  been  given  in  the 
world's  history,  in  any  language,  in  any 
clime,  than  that  given  by  the  Master  himself 
when  standing  by  the  side  of  Jacob's  well,  to 
the  Samaritan  woman  he  said,  God  is  Spirit; 
and  they  that  worship  Him  must  worship  Him 
in  spirit  and  in  truth.  God  is  Spirit,  the  In- 
finite Spirit,  the  Infinite  Life  back  of  all 
these  physical  manifestations  we  see  in  this 
changing  world  about  us,  and  of  which  all, 
including  we  ourselves,  is  the  body  or  outer 
form ;  the  one  Infinite  Spirit  which  fills  all 
the  universe  with  Himself,  so  that  all  is  He, 
since  He  is  all.  All  is  He  in  the  sense  of 
being  a  part  of  Him;  for,  if  He  is  all,  there 
can  be  nothing  that  is  outside  of,  that  is  not 
a  part  of  Him,  so  that  each  one  is  a  part  of 
this  Eternal  God  who  is  not  separate  from 
us,  and,  if  not  separate  from  us,  then  not  afar 
off,  for  in  Him  we  live  and  move  and  have  our 


WHAT    ALL   THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING      137 

being,  He  is  the  life  of  our  life,  our  very  life 
itself.  The  life  of  God  is  in  us,  we  are  in 
the  life  of  God;  but  that  life  transcends  us  so 
that  it  includes  all  else, —  every  person,  every 
animal,  every  grass-blade,  every  flower,  every 
particle  of  earth,  every  particle  of  everything, 
animate  and  inanimate.  So  that  God  is  All ; 
and,  if  all,  then  each  individual,  you  and  I, 
must  be  a  vital  part  of  that  all,  since  there 
can  be  nothing  separate  from  it;  and,  if  a 
part,  then  the  same  in  nature,  in  character- 
istics,—  the  same  as  a  tumbler  of  water  taken 
from  the  ocean  is,  in  nature,  in  qualities,  in 
characteristics,  identical  with  that  ocean,  its 
source.  God,  then,  is  the  Infinite  Spirit  of 
which  each  one  is  a  part  in  the  form  of  an 
individualized  spirit.  God  is  Spirit,  creating, 
manifesting,  ruling  through  the  agency  of 
great  spiritual  laws  and  forces  that  surround 
us  on  every  side,  that  run  through  all  the  uni- 
verse, and  that  unite  all;  for  in  one  sense, 
there  is  nothing  in  all  this  great  universe  but 
law.  And,  oh,  the  stupendous  grandeur  of  it 
all !  These  same  great  spiritual  laws  and 
forces  operate  within  us.  They  are  the  laws 
of  our  being.  By  them  every  act  of  each  indi- 
vidual life  is  governed. 

Now  one  of  the  great  facts  borne  ever  more 


138      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

and  more  into  the  inner  consciousness  of  man 
is  that  sublime  and  transcendent  fact  that  we 
have  just  noticed, —  that  man  is  one  with,  that 
he  is  part  of,  the  Infinite  God,  this  Infinite 
Spirit  that  is  the  life  of  all,  this  Infinite 
Whole;  that  he  is  not  a  mere  physical,  ma- 
terial being, —  for  the  physical  is  but  the  ma- 
terial which  the  real  inner  self,  the  real  life  or 
spirit  uses  to  manifest  through, —  but  that 
he  is  this  spirit,  this  spirit,  using,  living  in 
this  physical,  material  house  or  body  to  get 
the  contact,  the  experience  with  the  material 
world  around  him  while  in  this  form  of  life, 
but  spirit  nevertheless,  and  spirit  now  as 
much  as  he  ever  will  or  ever  can  be,  except  so 
far  of  course,  as  he  recognizes  more  and  more 
his  true,  his  higher  self,  and  so  consciously 
evolves,  step  by  step,  into  the  higher  and  ever 
higher  realization  of  the  real  nature,  the  real 
self,  the  God-self.  As  I  heard  it  said  by 
one  of  the  world's  great  thinkers  and  writers 
but  a  few  days  ago :  Men  talk  of  having  a  soul. 
I  have  no  soul.  I  am  a  soul :  I  have  a  body. 
We  are  told  moreover  in  the  word,  that  man 
is  created  in  the  image  of  God.  God  is 
Spirit.  What  then  must  man  be,  if  that 
which  tells  us  is  true? 

Now  one  of  the  great  errors  all  along  in  the 


WHAT   ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING      139 

past  has  been  that  we  have  mistaken  the  mere 
body,  the  mere  house  in  which  we  live  while 
in  this  form  of  life  for  a  period,  —  that  which 
comes  from  the  earth  and  which,  in  a  greater 
or  less  time,  returns  to  the  earth, —  this  we 
have  mistaken  for  the  real  self.  Either  we 
have  lost  sight  of  or  we  have  failed  to  recog- 
nize the  true  identity.  The  result  is  that  we 
are  at  life  from  the  wrong  side,  from  the  side 
of  the  external,  while  all  true  life  is  from 
within  out. 

We  have  taken  our  lives  out  of  a  conscious 
harmony  with  the  higher  laws  of  our  being, 
with  the  result  that  we  are  going  against  the 
great  current  of  the  Divine  Order  of  things. 
Is  it  any  wonder,  then,  that  we  find  the 
strugglings,  the  inharmonies,  the  sufferings, 
the  fears,  the  forebodings,  the  fallings  by  the 
wayside,  the  "strange,  inscrutable  dispensa- 
tions of  Providence"  that  we  behold  on  every 
side?  The  moment  we  bring  our  lives  into 
harmony  with  the  higher  laws  of  our  being, 
and,  as  a  result,  into  harmony  with  the  cur- 
rent of  the  Divine  Order  of  things,  we  shall 
find  that  all  these  will  have  taken  wings;  for 
the  cause  will  have  been  removed.  And  as 
we  look  down  the  long  vista  of  such  a  life,  we 
shall  find  that  each  thing  fits  into  all  others 


I4O     WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

with  a  wonderful,  a  sublime,  a  perfect,  a 
divine  harmony. 

This,  it  will  seem  to  some, — and  to  many, 
no  doubt, —  is  claiming  a  great  deal.  No 
more,  however,  than  the  Master  Teacher 
warranted  us  in  claiming  when  he  said,  and 
repeated  it  so  often,  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  and  all  these  other  things  shall  be 
added  unto  you ;  and  he  left  us  not  in  the  dark 
as  to  exactly  what  he  meant  by  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  for  again  he  said :  Say  not,  Lo 
here,  nor  lo  there.  Know  ye  not  that  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  within  you?  Within 
you.  The  interior  spiritual  kingdom,  the 
kingdom  of  the  higher  self,  which  is  the  king- 
dom of  God;  the  kingdom  of  harmony,  —  har- 
mony with  the  higher  laws  of  your  being. 

The  Master  said  what  he  said  not  for  the 
sake  merely  of  using  a  phrase  of  rhetoric,  nor 
even  to  hear  himself  talk;  for  this  he  never 
did.  But  that  great  incarnation  of  spiritual 
insight  and  power  knew  of  the  great  spiritual 
laws  and  forces  under  which  we  live,  and  also 
that  supreme  fact  of  the  universe,  that  man  is 
a  spiritual  being,  born  to  have  dominion,  and 
that,  by  recognizing  the  true  self  and  by  bring- 
ing it  into  complete  and  perfect  harmony  with 
the  higher  spiritual  laws  and  forces  under 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A- SEEKING      14! 

which  he  lives,  he  can  touch  these  laws  and 
forces  so  that  they  will  respond  at  every  call 
and  bring  him  whatsoever  he  wills, —  one  of 
the  most  stupendous  scientific  facts  of  the  uni- 
verse. When  he  has  found  and  entered  into 
the  kingdom,  then  applies  to  him  the  truth  of 
the  great  precept,  Take  ye  no  thought  for  the 
morrow;  for  the  things  of  the  morrow  will  take 
care  of  themselves. 

Yes,  we  are  at  life  from  the  wrong  side. 
We  have  been  giving  all  time  and  attention  to 
the  mere  physical,  the  material,  the  external, 
the  mere  outward  means  of  expression  and  the 
things  that  pertain  thereto,  thus  missing  the 
real  life;  and  this  we  have  called  living,  and 
seem,  indeed,  to  be  satisfied  with  the  results. 
No  wonder  the  cry  has  gone  out  again  and 
again  from  many  a  human  soul,  Is  life  worth 
the  living?  But  from  one  who  has  once  com- 
menced to  live,  this  cry  never  has,  nor  can  it 
ever  come ;  for,  when  the  kingdom  is  once 
found,  life  then  ceases  to  be  a  plodding,  and  be- 
comes an  exultation,  an  ecstasy,  a  joy.  Yes, 
you  will  find  that  all  the  evil,  all  the  error, 
all  the  disease,  all  the  suffering,  all  the  fears, 
all  the  forebodings  of  life,  are  on  the  side 
of  the  physical,  the  material,  the  transient; 
while  all  the  peace,  all  the  joy,  all  the  happi- 


142      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

ness,  all  the  growth,  all  the  life,  all  the  rich, 
exulting,  abounding  life,  is  on  the  side  of  the 
spiritual,  the  ever-increasing,  the  eternal, — 
that  that  never  changes,  that  has  no  end.  In- 
stead of  crying  out  against  the  destiny  of  fate, 
let  us  cry  out  against  the  destiny  of  self,  or 
rather  against  the  destiny  of  the  mistaken  self; 
for  everything  that  comes  to  us  comes  through 
causes  which  we  ourselves  or  those  before  us 
have  set  into  operation.  Nothing  comes  by 
chance,  for  in  all  the  wide  universe  there  is 
absohttely  no  such  thing  as  chance.  We  bring 
whatever  comes.  Are  we  not  satisfied  with 
the  effects,  the  results?  The  thing  then  to 
do,  is  to  change  the  causes ;  for  we  have  every- 
thing in  our  own  hands  the  moment  we  awake 
to  a  recognition  of  the  true  self. 

We  make  our  own  heaven  or  our  own  hell, 
and  the  only  heaven  or  hell  that  will  ever  be 
ours  is  that  of  our  own  making.  The  order  of 
the  universe  is  one  thing:  we  take  our  lives 
out  of  harmony  with  and  so  pervert  the  laws 
under  which  we  live,  and  make  it  another. 
The  order  is  the  all  good.  We  pervert  the 
laws,  and  what  we  call  evil  is  the  result, — 
simply  the  result  of  the  violation  of  law;  and 
we  then  wonder  that  a  just  and  loving  God 
could  permit  such  and  such  things.  We 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING      143 

wonder  at  what  we  term  the  "strange,  inscru- 
table dispensations  of  Providence,"  when  all 
is  of  our  own  making.  We  can  be  our  own 
best  friends  or  we  can  be  our  own  worst  ene- 
mies; and  the  only  real  enemy  one  can  ever 
have  is  the  self,  the  very  self. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  in  the  scientific 
world  that  the  great  work  in  the  process  of 
evolution  is  the  gradual  advancing  from  the 
lower  to  the  higher,  from  the  coarser  to  the 
finer,  or,  in  other  words,  from  the  coarser 
material  to  the  finer  spiritual ;  and  this  higher 
spiritual ization  of  life  is  the  great  work  before 
us  all.  All  pass  ultimately  over  the  same 
road  in  general,  some  more  rapidly,  some  more 
slowly.  The  ultimate  destiny  of  all  is  the 
higher  life,  the  finding  of  the  higher  self;  and 
to  this  we  are  either  led  or  we  are  pushed, — 
led,  by  recognizing  and  coming  into  harmony 
with  the  higher  laws  of  our  being,  or  pushed, 
through  their  violation,  and  hence  through 
experience,  through  suffering,  and  at  times 
through  bitter  suffering,  until  through  this 
very  agency  we  learn  the  laws  and  come  into 
harmony  with  them,  so  that  we  thus  see  the 
economy,  the  blessedness  of  even  error,  shame, 
and  suffering  itself,  in  that,  if  we  are  not 
wise  enough  to  go  voluntarily  and  of  our  own 


144      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

accord,  it  all  the  more  quickly  brings  us  to 
our  true,  our  higher  selves. 

Moreover,  whatever  is  evolved,  must  as 
surely  first  be  involved.  We  cannot  conceive 
even  of  an  evolution  without  first  an  involu- 
tion ;  and,  if  this  is  true,  we.  cannot  conclude 
otherwise  than  that  all  that  will  ever  be 
brought  forth  through  the  process  of  evolution 
is  already  within,  all  the  God  possibilities  of 
the  human  soul  are  now,  at  this  very  moment, 
latent  within.  This  being  true,  the  process 
of  evolution  need  not,  as  is  many  times  sup- 
posed, take  aeons  or  even  ages  for  its  accom- 
plishment; for  the  process  is  wonderfully  ac- 
celerated when  we  have  grasped  and  when  we 
have  commenced  to  actualize  the  reality  of 
that  mighty  precept,  Know  thyself. 

It  is  possible,  through  an  intelligent  under- 
standing of  the  laws  of  the  higher  life,  to  ad- 
vance in  the  spiritual  awakening  and  unfold- 
ment  even  in  a  single  year  more  than  one 
otherwise  would  through  a  whole  lifetime,  or 
more  in  a  single  day  or  even  hour  than  in  an 
entire  year  or  series  of  years  otherwise. 

This  higher  spiritualization  of  life  is  cer- 
tainly what  the  Master  had  in  mind  when  he 
said,  It  is  as  hard  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  as  it  is  for  a  camel  to 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING       145 

pass  through  the  eye  of  a  needle.  For,  if  a 
man  give  all  his  days  and  his  nights  merely 
to  the  accumulation  of  outer  material  posses- 
sions, what  time  has  he  for  the  growing,  the 
unfolding,  of  the  interior,  the  spiritual,  what 
time  for  finding  that  wonderful  kingdom,  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  the  Christ  within? 

This  certainly  is  also  the  significance  of  the 
temptation  in  the  wilderness.  The  tempta- 
tions were  all,  you  will  recall,  in  connection 
with  the  material,  the  physical,  and  the  things 
that  pertain  thereto.  Do  so  and  so,  said  the 
physical :  follow  after  me,  and  I  will  give  you 
bread  in  abundance,  I  will  give  you  great  fame 
and  notoriety,  I  will  give  you  vast  material 
possessions.  All,  you  see,  a  calling  away 
from  the  real,  the  interior,  the  spiritual,  the 
eternal.  Dominion  over  all  the  kingdoms  of 
the  world  was  promised.  But  what,  what  is  do- 
minion overall  the  world,  with  heaven  left  out? 

All,  however,  was  triumphed  over.  The 
physical  was  put  into  subjection  by  the  spirit- 
ual, the  victory  was  gained  once  for  all  and 
forever ;  and  he  became  the  supreme  and  royal 
Master,  and  by  this  complete  and  glorious 
mastery  of  self  he  gained  the  mastery  over  all 
else  besides,  even  to  material  things  and  con- 
ditions. 


146     WHAT    ALL   THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

And  by  this  higher  spiritual  chemicaliza- 
tion of  life  thus  set  into  operation  the  very 
thought  forces  of  his  mind  became  charged 
with  a  living,  mighty,  and  omnipotent  power, 
so  as  to  effect  a  mastery  over  all  exterior  con- 
ditions: hence  the  numerous  things  called 
miracles  by  those  who  witnessed  and  who  had 
not  entered  into  a  knowledge  of  the  higher 
laws  that  can  triumph  over  and  master  the 
lower,  but  which  are  just  as  real  and  as 
natural  on  their  plane  as  the  lower,  and  even 
more  real  and  more  natural,  because  higher 
and  therefore  more  enduring.  But  this  com- 
plete mastery  over  self  during  this  period  of 
temptation  was  just  the  beginning  of  the  path 
that  led  from  glory  unto  glory,  the  path  that 
for  you  and  for  me  will  lead  from  glory  unto 
glory  the  same  as  for  him. 

It  was  this  new  divine  and  spiritual  chemis- 
try of  life  thus  set  into  operation  that  trans- 
formed the  man  Jesus,  that  royal-hearted  elder 
brother,  into  the  Christ  Jesus,  and  forever 
blessed  be  his  name;  for  he  thus  became  our 
Saviour,  —  he  became  our  Saviour  by  virtue  of 
pointing  out  to  us  the  way.  This  overcoming 
by  the  calling  of  the  higher  spiritual  forces 
into  operation  is  certainly  what  he  meant 
when  he  said,  I  have  overcome  the  world,  and 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 


what  he  would  have  us  understand  when  he 
says,  Overcome  the  world,  even  as  I  have  over- 
come it. 

And  in  the  same  sense  we  are  all  the  saviors 
one  of  another,  or  may  become  so.  A  sudden 
emergency  arises,  and  I  stand  faltering  and 
weak  with  fear.  My  friend  beside  me  is  strong 
and  fearless.  He  sees  the  emergency.  He 
summons  up  all  the  latent  powers  within  him, 
and  springs  forth  to  meet  it.  This  sublime  ex- 
ample arouses  me,  calls  my  latent  powers  into 
activity,  when  but  for  him  I  might  not  have 
known  them  there.  I  follow  his  example.  I 
now  know  my  powers,  and  know  them  forever 
after.  Thus,  in  this,  my  friend  has  become 
my  savior. 

I  am  weak  in  some  point  of  character,  — 
vacillating,  yielding,  stumbling,  falling,  con- 
tinually eating  the  bitter  fruit  of  it  all.  My 
friend  is  strong,  he  has  gained  thorough  self- 
mastery.  The  majesty  and  beauty  of  power  are 
upon  his  brow.  I  see  his  example,  I  love  his 
life,  I  am  influenced  by  his  power.  My  soul 
longs  and  cries  out  for  the  same.  A  supreme 
effort  of  will  —  that  imperial  master  that  will 
take  one  anywhere  when  rightly  directed  — 
arises  within  me,  it  is  born  at  last,  and  it 
calls  all  the  soul's  latent  powers  into  activity; 


148      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A -SEEKING 

and  instead  of  stumbling  I  stand  firm,  instead 
of  giving  over  in  weakness  I  stand  firm  and 
master,  I  enter  into  the  joys  of  full  self-mas- 
tery, and  through  this  into  the  mastery  of  all 
things  besides.  And  thus  my  friend  has  again 
become  my  savior. 

With  the  new  power  I  have  acquired  through 
the  example  and  influence  of  my  savior-friend, 
I,  in  turn,  stand  before  a  friend  who  is  strug- 
gling, who  is  stumbling  and  in  despair.  He 
sees,  he  feels,  the  power  of  my  strength.  He 
longs  for,  his  soul  cries  out  for  the  same. 
His  interior  forces  are  called  into  activity,  he 
now  knows  his  powers;  and  instead  of  the 
slave,  he  becomes  the  master,  and  thus  I,  in 
turn,  have  become  his  savior.  Oh,  the  wonder- 
ful sense  of  sublimity,  the  mighty  feelings  of 
responsibility,  the  deep  sense  of  power  and 
peace  the  recognition  of  this  fact  should  bring 
to  each  and  all. 

God  works  through  the  instrumentality  of 
human  agency.  Then  forever  away  with  that 
old,  shrivelling,  weakening,  dying,  and  devil- 
ish idea  that  we  are  poor  worms  of  the  dust ! 
We  may  or  we  may  not  be :  it  all  depends  upon 
the  self.  The  moment  we  believe  we  are  we 
become  such ;  and  as  long  as  we  hold  to  the 
belief  we  will  be  held  to  this  identity,  and  will 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A -SEEKING      149 

act  and  live  as  such.  The  moment,  however, 
we  recognize  our  divinity,  our  higher,  our 
God-selves,  and  the  fact  that  we  are  the  saviors 
of  our  fellow-men,  we  become  saviors,  and 
stand  and  move  in  the  midst  of  a  majesty  and 
beauty  and  power  that  of  itself  proclaims  us 
as  such. 

N/ 

There  is  a  prevalent  idea  to  the  effect  that 
overcoming  in  this  sense  necessarily  implies 
more  or  less  of  a  giving  up,  —  that  it  means 
something  possibly  on  the  order  of  asceticism. 
On  the  contrary,  the  highest,  truest,  keenest 
pleasures  the  human  soul  can  know,  it  finds 
only  after  the  higher  is  entered  upon  and  has 
commenced  its  work  of  mastery;  and,  instead 
of  there  being  a  giving  up  of  any  kind,  there 
is  a  great  law  which  says  that  the  lower  al- 
ways and  of  its  own  accord  falls  away  before 
the  higher.  And  the  time  soon  comes  when, 
as  one  stands  and  looks  back,  he  wonders  that 
this  or  that  that  he  at  one  time  called  pleasure 
ever  satisfied  him  ;  for  what  then  satisfied  him, 
compared  to  what  now  is  his  hourly  peace, 
satisfaction,  and  joy,  was  but  as  poor  brass  com- 
pared to  the  finest,  purest,  and  rarest  of  gold. 

From  what  has  been  said  let  it  not  be  in- 
ferred that  the  body,    the   physical,    material 


150     WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

life  is  to  be  despised  or  looked  down  upon. 
This,  rather  let  it  be  said,  is  one  of  the  crying 
errors  of  the  times,  and  prolific  of  a  vast 
amount  of  error,  suffering,  and  shame.  On 
the  contrary,  it  should  be  thought  all  the  more 
highly  of:  it  should  be  loved  and  developed  to 
its  highest  perfections,  beauties,  and  powers. 
God  gave  us  the  body  not  in  vain.  It  is  just 
as  holy  and  beautiful  as  the  spirit  itself.  It  is 
merely  the  outward  material  manifestation  of 
the  individualized  spirit;  and  we  by  our  hourly 
thoughts  and  emotions  are  building  it,  are 
determining  its  conditions,  its  structure,  and 
appearance.  And,  if  there  are  any  conditions 
we  are  not  satisfied  with,  we  by  an  understand- 
ing of  the  laws,  have  it  in  our  power  to  make 
it  over  and  change  these  conditions.  Fla- 
marion,  the  eminent  French  scientist,  member 
of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Science,  and  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  most  eminent  scientists 
living,  tells  us  that  the  entire  human  struct- 
ure can  be  made  over  within  a  period  of  less 
than  one  year,  some  eleven  months  being  the 
length  of  time  required  for  the  more  compact 
and  more  set  portions  to  respond ;  while  some 
portions  respond  much  more  readily,  within 
a  period  of  from  two  to  three  months,  and 
some  even  within  a  month. 


WHAT   ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING     15! 

Every  part,  every  organ,  every  function  oi 
the  body  is  just  as  clean,  just  as  beautiful, 
just  as  sweet,  and  just  as  holy  as  every  other 
part;  and  it  is  only  by  virtue  of  man's  per- 
verted ways  of  looking  at  some  that  they 
become  otherwise,  and  the  moment  they  so 
become,  abuses,  ill  uses,  suffering,  and  shame 
creep  in. 

Not  repression^  but  elevation.  Would  that 
this  could  be  repeated  a  thousand  times  over ! 
Not  repression,  but  elevation.  Every  part, 
every  organ,  every  function  of  the  body  is 
given  for  use,  but  not  for  misuse  or  abuse;  and 
the  moment  the  latter  takes  place  in  connec- 
tion with  any  function  it  loses  its  higher 
powers  of  use,  and  there  goes  with  this  the 
higher  powers  of  true  enjoyment.  It  is  thus 
that  we  get  that  large  class  known  as  abnor- 
mals,  resorting  to  the  methods  they  resort  to 
for  enjoyment,  but  which,  in  its  true  sense, 
they  always  fail  in  finding,  because  law  will 
admit  of  no  violations;  and,  if  violated,  it 
takes  away  the  very  powers  of  enjoyment,  it 
takes  away  the  very  things  that  through  its 
violation  they  thought  they  had  secured,  or 
it  turns  them  into  ashes  in  their  very  hands. 
God,  nature,  law,  the  higher  self,  is  not 
mocked. 


WHAT   ALL   THE   WORLD*S   A-SEEKING 


Not  repression,  but  elevation,  —  repression 
only  in  the  sense  of  mastery  ;  but  this  means  — 
nay,  this  is  —  elevation.  In  other  words,  we 
should  be  the  master,  and  not  the  body.  We 
should  dictate  to  the  body,  and  should  never, 
even  for  an  instant,  allow  it  to  dictate  to  us. 

Oh,  the  thousands,  the  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  men  and  women  who  are  everywhere  being 
driven  hither  and  thither,  led  into  this  and 
into  that  which  their  own  better  selves  would 
not  enter  into,  simply  because  they  have 
allowed  the  body  to  assume  the  mastery; 
while  they  have  taken  the  place  of  the  weak- 
ling, the  slave,  and  all  on  account  of  their 
own  weakness,  —  weakness  through  ignorance, 
ignorance  of  the  tremendous  forces  and  powers 
within,  the  forces  and  powers  of  the  mind  and 
spirit. 

It  would  be  a  right  royal  plan  for  those  who 
are  thus  enslaved  by  the  body,  —  and  we  all 
are  more  or  less,  each  in  his  own  particular 
way,  and  not  one  is  absolutely  free,  —  it  would 
be  a  good  plan  to  hold  immediately,  at  this 
very  hour,  a  conversation  with  the  body  some- 
what after  this  fashion  :  Body,  we  have  for 
some  time  been  dwelling  together.  Life  for 
neither  has  been  in  the  highest  degree  satis- 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING     1 53 

factory.  The  cause  is  now  apparent  to  me. 
The  mastery  I  have  voluntarily  handed  over 
to  you.  You  have  not  assumed  it  of  your  OWE 
accord ;  but  I  have  given  it  over  to  you  little 
by  little,  and  just  in  the  degree  that  you  have 
appropriated  it.  Neither  one  is  to  blame. 
It  has  been  by  virtue  of  ignorance.  But 
henceforth  we  will  reverse  positions.  You 
shall  become  the  servant,  and  I  the  master. 
From  this  time  forth  you  shall  no  longer  dic- 
tate to  me,  but  I  will  dictate  to  you. 

I,  one  with  Infinite  intelligence,  wisdom, 
and  power,  longing  for  a  fuller  and  ever  fuller 
realization  of  this  oneness,  will  assume  control, 
and  will  call  upon  you  to  help  in  the  fuller 
and  ever  fuller  external  manifestation  of  this 
realization.  We  will  thus  regain  the  ground 
both  of  us  have  lost.  We  will  thus  be  truly 
married  instead  of  farcically  so.  And  thus 
we  will  help  each  the  other  to  a  realization  of 
the  highest,  most  satisfying  and  most  endur- 
ing pleasures  and  joys,  possibilities  and 
powers,  loves  and  realizations,  that  human  life 
can  know;  and  so,  hand  in  hand,  we  will  help 
each  the  other  to  the  higher  and  ever-increas- 
ing life  instead  of  degrading  each  the  other  to 
the  lower  and  ever-decreasing.  I  will  become 
the  imperial  master,  and  you  the  royal  compan- 


154      WHAT    ALL    THE    WOFLD  S    A-SEEKING 

ion ;  and  thus  we  will  go  forth  to  an  ever 
larger  life  of  love  and  service,  and  so  of  true 
enjoyment. 

This  conversation,  if  entered  into  in  the 
spirit,  accompanied  by  an  earnest,  sincere 
desire  for  its  fulfilment,  re-enforced  by  the 
thought  forces,  and  continually  attended  by 
that  absolute  magnet  of  power,  firm  expecta- 
tion, will,  if  all  are  firmly  and  persistently 
held  to,  bring  the  full  realization  of  one's 
fondest  desires  with  a  certainty  as  absolute 
as  that  effect  follows  cause.  The  higher  self 
will  invariably  master  when  it  truly  and 
firmly  asserts  itself.  Much  the  same  attitude 
can  be  assumed  in  connection  with  the  body 
in  disease  or  in  suffering  with  the  same  re- 
sults. Forces  can  be  set  into  operation  which 
will  literally  change  and  make  over  the  dis- 
eased, the  abnormal  portions,  and  in  time 
transform  them  into  the  healthy,  the  strong, 
the  normal, — 'this  when  we  once  understand 
and  vitally  grasp  the  laws  of  these  mighty 
forces,  and  are  brought  to  the  full  recognition 
of  the  absolute  control  of  mind,  of  spirit, 
over  matter,  and  all,  again  let  it  be  said,  in 
accordance  with  natural  spiritual  law. 

No,  a  knowledge  of  the  spiritual  realities  of 
life  prohibits  asceticism,  repression,  the  same 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING       155 

as  it  prohibits  license  and  perverted  use.  To  err 
on  the  one  side  is  just  as  contrary  to  the  ideal 
life  as  to  err  on  the  other.  All  things  are  for 
a  purpose,  all  should  be  used  and  enjoyed ;  but 
all  should  be  rightly  used,  that  they  may  be 
fully  enjoyed. 

It  is  the  threefold  life  and  development 
that  is  wanted,  —  physical,  mental,  spiritual. 
This  gives  the  rounded  life,  and  he  or  she  who 
fails  in  any  one  comes  short  of  the  perfect 
whole.!  The  physical  has  its  uses  just  the 
same  and  is  just  as  important  as  the  others. 
The  great  secret  of  the  highly  successful  life 
is,  however,  to  infuse  the  mental  and  the 
physical  with  the  spiritual ;  in  other  words, 
to  spiritualize  all,  and  so  raise  all  to  the  high- 
est possibilities  and  powers. 

It  is  the  all-round,  fully  developed  we  want, 
—  not  the  ethereal,  pale-blooded  man  and 
woman,  but  the  man  and  woman  of  flesh  and 
blood,  for  action  and  service  here  and  now,— 
the  man  and  woman  strong  and  powerful,  with 
all  the  faculties  and  functions  fully  unfolded 
and  used,  all  in  a  royal  and  bounding  condi- 
tion, but  all  rightly  subordinated.  The  man 
and  the  woman  of  this  kind,  with  the  imperial 
hand  of  mastery  upon  all, —  standing,  moving 
thus  like  a  king,  nay,  like  a  very  God, —  such 


156      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

is  the  man  and  such  is  the  woman  of  power. 
Such  is  the  ideal  life :  anything  else  is  one- 
sided, and  falls  short  of  it. 

The  most  powerful  agent  in  character-build- 
ing is  this  awakening  to  the  true  self,  to  the 
fact  that  man  is  a  spiritual  being, —  nay,  more, 
that  I,  this  very  eternal  I,  am  a  spiritual  be- 
ing, right  here  and  now,  at  this  very  moment, 
with  the  God-powers  which  can  be  quickly 
called  forth.  With  this  awakening,  life  in  all 
its  manifold  relations  becomes  wonderfully 
simplified.  And  as  to  the  powers,  the  full 
realization  of  the  fact  that  man  is  a  spiritual 
being  and  a  living  as  such  brings,  they  are 
absolutely  without  limit,  increasing  in  direct 
proportion  as  the  higher  self,  the  God-self, 
assumes  the  mastery,  and  so  as  this  higher 
spiritualization  of  life  goes  on. 

With  this  awakening  and  realization  one  is 
brought  at  once  en  rapport  with  the  universe. 
He  feels  the  power  and  the  thrill  of  the  life 
universal.  He  goes  out  from  his  own  little 
garden  spot,  and  mingles  with  the  great  uni- 
verse; and  the  little  perplexities,  trials,  and 
difficulties  of  life  that  to-day  so  vex  and  annoy 
him,  fall  away  of  their  own  accord  by  reason 
of  their  very  insignificance.  The  intuitions 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING 


become  keener  and  ever  more  keen  and  unerr- 
ing in  their  guidance.  There  comes  more  and 
more  the  power  of  reading  men,  so  that  no 
harm  can  come  from  this  source.  There 
comes  more  and  more  the  power  of  seeing  into 
the  future,  so  that  more  and  more  true  be- 
comes the  old  adage,  —  that  coming  events  cast 
their  shadows  before.  Health  in  time  takes 
the  place  of  disease;  for  all  disease  and  its 
consequent  suffering  is  merely  the  result  of 
the  violation  of  law,  either  consciously  or  un- 
consciously, either  intentionally  or  uninten- 
tionally. There  comes  also  a  spiritual  power 
which,  as  it  is  sent  out,  is  adequate  for  the 
healing  of  others  the  same  as  in  the  days  of 
old.  The  body  becomes  less  gross  and  heavy, 
finer  in  its  texture  and  form,  so  that  it  serves 
far  better  and  responds  far  more  readily  to  the 
higher  impulses  of  the  soul.  Matter  itself  in 
time  responds  to  the  action  of  these  higher 
forces;  and  many  things  that  we  are  accus- 
tomed by  reason  of  our  limited  vision  to  call 
miraculous  or  supernatural  become  the  nor- 
mal, the  natural,  the  every-day. 

For  what,  let  us  ask,  is  a  miracle?  Noth- 
ing more  nor  less  than  this:  a  highly  illum- 
ined soul,  one  who  has  brought  his  life  into 
thorough  harmony  with  the  higher  spiritual 


158      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

laws  and  forces  of  his  being,  and  therefore 
with  those  of  the  universe,  thus  making  it 
possible  for  the  highest  things  to  come  to  him, 
has  brought  to  him  a  law  a  little  higher  than 
the  ordinary  mind  knows  of  as  yet.  This 
he  touches,  he  operates.  It  responds.  The 
people  see  the  result,  and  cry  out,  Miracle! 
miracle!  when  it  is  just  ^as  natural,  just  as 
fully  in  accordance  with  the  law  on  this  higher 
plane,  as  is  the  common,  the  every-day  on  the 
ordinary.  And  let  it  be  remembered  that 
the  miraculous,  the  supernatural  of  to-day 
becomes,  as  in  the  process  of  evolution  we 
leave  the  lower  for  the  higher,  the  common- 
place, the  natural,  the  every-day  of  to-morrow; 
and,  truly,  miracles  are  being  performed  in  the 
world  to-day  just  as  much  as  they  ever  have 
been. 

And  why  should  we  not  to-day  have  the 
powers  of  the  foremost  in  the  days  of  old? 
The  great  universe  in  which  we  live  is  just 
the  same,  the  great  laws  under  which  we  live 
are  identically  the  same,  God  the  same  and 
working  in  His  world  now  just  as  then.  The 
only  difference  we  shall  find  is  in  ourselves, 
in  that  we  have  taken  our  lives  out  of  harmony 
with  the  higher  laws  of  our  being,  and  conse- 
quently have  lost  the  higher  powers  through 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING       159 

not  using  them.  Mighty  men  we  are  told 
they  were,  mighty  men  who  walked  with 
God,  —  and  in  the  last  clause  lies  the  secret  of 
the  first,  —  men  who  lived  in  the  spirit,  men 
who  followed  after  the  real  life  instead  of  giv- 
ing all  time  and  attention  to  the  mere  external, 
men  who  lived  in  the  higher  stories  of  their 
being,  and  not  continually  in  the  basements. 

With  here  and  there  an  exception  we  reverse 
the  process.  We  live  in  the  valleys,  so  to 
speak,  often  disease-infected  valleys,  when  we 
might  mount  up  to  the  mountain-tops,  and 
there  dwell  continually  in  the  warm  and  mel- 
low sunlight  of  God's,  or  if  you  please,  of 
nature's  great,  unchangeable  laws,  and  find 
ourselves  rising  ever  higher  and  higher,  and 
revelations  coming  new  every  day. 

The  Master  never  claimed  for  himself  any- 
thing that  he  did  not  claim  for  all  mankind; 
but,  quite  to  the  contrary,  he  said  and  con- 
tinually repeated,  Not  only  shall  ye  do  these 
things,  but  greater  than  these  shall  ye  do;  for 
I  have  pointed  out  to  you  the  way, —  meaning, 
though  strange  as  it  evidently  seems  to  many, 
exactly  what  he  said. 

Of  the  vital  power  of  thought  and  the 
interior  forces  in  moulding  conditions,  and 
more,  of  the  supremacy  of  thought  over  all 


I6O      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKJ.NG 

conditions,  the  world  has  scarcely  the  faintest 
grasp,  not  to  say  even  idea,  as  yet.  The  fact 
that  thoughts  are  forces,  and  that  through  them 
we  have  creative  power,  is  one  of  the  most  vital 
facts  of  the  universe,  the  most  vital  fact  of 
man's  being.  And  through  this  instrumen- 
tality we  have  in  our  grasp  and  as  our  right- 
ful heritage,  the  power  of  making  life  and  all 
its  manifold  conditions  exactly  what  we  will. 

Through  our  thought-forces  we  have  creative 
power,  not  in  a  figurative  sense,  but  in  re- 
ality. Everything  in  the  material  universe 
about  us  had  its  origin  first  in  spirit,  in 
thought,  and  from  this  it  took  its  form.  The 
very  world  in  which  we  live,  with  all  its  man- 
ifold wonders  and  sublime  manifestations,  is 
the  result  of  the  energies  of  the  divine  intel- 
ligence or  mind, —  God,  or  whatever  term  it 
comes  convenient  for  each  one  to  use.  And 
God  said,  Let  there  be,  and  there  was, —  the 
material  world,  at  least  the  material  manifes- 
tation of  it,  literally  spoken  into  existence, 
the  spoken  word,  however,  but  the  outward 
manifestation  of  the  interior  forces  of  the  Su- 
preme Intelligence. 

Every  castle  the  world  has  ever  seen  was 
first  an  ideal  in  the  architect's  mind.  Every 
statue  was  first  an  ideal  in  the  sculptor's 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING       l6l 

mind.  Every  piece  of  mechanism  the  world 
has  ever  known  was  first  formed  in  the  mind 
of  the  inventor.  Here  it  was  given  birth  to. 
These  same  mind-forces  then  dictated  to  and 
sent  the  energy  into  the  hand  that  drew  the 
model,  and  then  again  dictated  to  and  sent  the 
energy  into  the  hands  whereby  the  first  instru- 
ment was  clothed  in  the  material  form  of 
metal  or  of  wood.  The  lower  negative  always 
gives  way  to  the  higher  when  made  positive. 
Mind  is  positive :  matter  is  negative. 

Each  individual  life  is  a  part  of,  and  hence 
is  one  with,  the  Infinite  Life;  and  the  highest 
intelligence  and  power  belongs  to  each  in  just 
the  degree  that  he  recognizes  his  oneness  and 
lays  claim  to  and  uses  it.  The  power  of  the 
word  is  not  merely  an  idle  phrase  or  form  of 
expression.  It  is  a  real  mental,  spiritual, 
scientific  fact,  and  can  become  vital  and 
powerful  in  your  hands  and  in  mine  in  just 
the  degree  that  we  understand  the  omnipotence 
of  the  thought  forces  and  raise  all  to  the 
higher  planes. 

The  blind,  the  lame,  the  diseased,  stood 
before  the  Christ,  who  said,  Receive  thy  sight, 
rise  up  and  walk,  or,  be  thou  healed ;  and  lo ! 
it  was  so.  The  spoken  word,  however,  was  but 
the  outward  expression  and  manifestation  of 


1 62       WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

his  interior  thought-forces,  the  power  and  po- 
tency of  which  he  so  thoroughly  knew.  But 
the  laws  governing  them  are  the  same  to-day 
as  they  were  then,  and  it  lies  in  our  power  to 
use  them  the  same  as  it  lay  in  his. 

Each  individual  life,  after  it  has  reached 
a  certain  age  or  degree  of  intelligence,  lives 
in  the  midst  of  the  surroundings  or  environ- 
ments of  its  own  creation ;  and  this  by  reason 
of  that  wonderful  power,  the  drawing  power  of 
mind,  which  is  continually  operating  in  every 
life,  whether  it  is  conscious  of  it  or  not. 

We  are  all  living,  so  to  speak,  in  a  vast 
ocean  of  thought.  The  very  atmosphere  about 
us  is  charged  with  the  thought  -  forces  that 
are  being  continually  sent  out.  When  the 
thought-forces  leave  the  brain,  they  go  out 
upon  the  atmosphere,  the  subtle  conducting 
ether,  much  the  same  as  sound-waves  go  out. 
It  is  by  virtue  of  this  law  that  thought  trans- 
ference is  possible,  and  has  become  an  estab- 
lished scientific  fact,  by  virtue  of  which  a  per- 
son can  so  direct  his  thought-forces  that  a  per- 
son at  a  distance,  and  in  a  receptive  attitude, 
can  get  the  thought  much  the  same  as  sound, 
for  example,  is  conducted  through  the  agency 
of  a  connecting  medium. 

Even    though    the    thoughts    as   they    leave 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING      163 

a  particular  person,  are  not  consciously  di- 
rected, they  go  out;  and  all  may  be  influ- 
enced by  them  in  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
each  one  in  proportion  as  he  or  she  is  more  or 
less  sensitively  organized,  or  in  proportion  as 
he  or  she  is  negative,  and  so  open  to  forces 
and  influences  from  without.  The  law  op- 
erating here  is  one  with  that  great  law  of  the 
universe,  —  that  like  attracts  like,  so  that  one 
continually  attracts  to  himself  forces  and 
influences  most  akin  to  those  of  his  own  life. 
And  his  own  life  is  determined  by  the 
thoughts  and  emotions  he  habitually  enter- 
tains, for  each  is  building  his  world  from  with- 
in. As  within,  so  without ;  cause,  effect. 

A  stalk  of  wheat  and  a  stock  of  corn  are 
growing  side  by  side,  within  an  inch  of  each 
other.  The  soil  is  the  same  for  both ;  but  the 
wheat  converts  the  food  it  takes  from  the  soil 
into  wheat,  the  likeness  of  itself,  while  the 
corn  converts  the  food  it  takes  from  the  same 
soil  into  corn,  the  likeness  of  itself.  What 
that  which  each  has  taken  from  the  soil  is  con- 
verted into  is  determined  by  the  soul,  the  in- 
terior life,  the  interior  forces  of  each.  This 
same  grain  taken  as  food  by  two  persons  will 
be  converted  into  the  body  of  a  criminal  in 
the  one  case,  and  into  the  body  of  a  saint  in 


164      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

the  other,  each  after  its  kind;  and  its  kind  is 
determined  by  the  inner  life  of  each.  Arid 
what  again  determines  the  inner  life  of  each? 
The  thoughts  and  emotions  that  are  habitually 
entertained  and  that  inevitably,  sooner  or 
later,  manifest  themselves  in  outer  material 
form.  Thought  is  the  great  builder  in  human 
life:  it  is  the  determining  factor.  Continu- 
ally think  thoughts  that  are  good,  and  your 
life  will  show  forth  in  goodness,  and  your 
body  in  health  and  beauty.  Continually  think 
evil  thoughts,  and  your  life  will  show  forth  in 
evil,  and  your  body  in  weakness  and  repulsive- 
ness.  Think  thoughts  of  love,  and  you  will 
love  and  will  be  loved.  Think  thoughts  of 
hatred,  and  you  will  hate  and  will  be  hated. 
Each  follows  its  kind. 

It  is  by  virtue  of  this  law  that  each  per- 
son creates  his  own  "atmosphere";  and  this 
atmosphere  is  determined  by  the  character 
of  the  thoughts  he  habitually  entertains.  It 
is,  in  fact,  simply  his  thought  atmosphere 
—  the  atmosphere  which  other  people  detect 
and  are  influenced  by. 

/In  this  way  each  person  creates  the  atmos- 
phere of  his  own  room ;  a  family,  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  house  in  which  they  live,  so  that 
the  moment  you  enter  the  door  you  feel  influ- 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING       165 

ences  kindred  to  the  thoughts  and  hence  to  the 
lives  of  those  who  dwell  there.  You  get  a 
feeling  of  peace  and  harmony  or  a  feeling  of 
disquietude  and  inharmony.  You  get  a  wel- 
come, want-to-stay  feeling  or  a  cold,  want-to- 
get-away  feeling,  according  to  their  thought 
attitude  toward  you,  even  though  but  few 
words  be  spoken.  So  the  characteristic  men- 
tal states  of  a  congregation  of  people  who  as- 
semble there  determine  the  atmosphere  of  any 
given  assembly-place,  church,  or  cathedral. 
Its  inhabitants  so  make,  so  determine  the  at- 
mosphere of  a  particular  village  or  city.  The 
sympathetic  thoughts  sent  out  by  a  vast  amphi- 
theatre of  people,  as  they  cheer  a  contestant, 
carry  him  to  goals  he  never  could  reach  by  his 
own  efforts  alone.  The  same  is  true  in  regard 
to  an  orator  and  his  audience. 

Napoleon's  army  is  in  the  East.  The 
plague  is  beginning  to  make  inroads  into  its 
ranks.  Long  lines  of  men  are  lying  on  cots 
and  on  the  ground  in  an  open  space  adjoining 
the  army.  Fear  has  taken  a  vital  hold  of  all, 
and  the  men  are  continually  being  stricken. 
Look  yonder,  contrary  to  the  earnest  en- 
treaties of  his  officers,  who  tell  him  that  such 
exposure  will  mean  sure  death,  Napoleon  with 
a  calm  and  dauntless  look  upon  his  face,  with 


1 66      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

a  firm  and  defiant  step,  is  coming  through 
these  plague-stricken  ranks.  He  is  going  up 
to,  talking  with,  touching  the  men ;  and,  as  they 
see  him,  there  goes  up  a  mighty  shout, —  The 
Emperor!  the  Emperor!  and  from  that  hour 
the  plague  in  its  inroads  is  stopped.  A  mar- 
vellous example  of  the  power  of  a  man  who, 
by  his  own  dauntless  courage,  absolute  fear- 
lessness, and  power  of  mind,  could  send  out 
such  forces  that  they  in  turn  awakened  kin- 
dred forces  in  the  minds  of  thousands  of 
others,  which  in  turn  dominate  their  very 
bodies,  so  that  the  plague,  and  even  death 
itself,  is  driven  from  the  field.  One  of  the 
grandest  examples  of  a  man  of  the  most 
mighty  and  tremendous  mind  and  will  power, 
and  at  the  same  time  an  example  of  one  of 
the  grandest  failures,  taking  life  in  its  total- 
ity, the  world  has  ever  seen. 

Again,  as  has  been  said,  the  great  law 
operating  in  connection  with  the  thought- 
forces  is  one  with  that  great  law  of  the  uni- 
verse,—  that  like  attracts  like.  We  can,  by 
virtue  of  our  ignorance  of  the  powers  of  the 
mind  forces  and  the  prevailing  mental  states, 
—  we  can  take  the  passive,  the  negative,  fear- 
ing, drifting  attitude,  and  thus  continually 
attract  to  us  like  influences  and  conditions 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING       167 

from  both  the  seen  and  the  unseen  side  of 
life.  Or,  by  a  knowledge  of  the  power  and 
potency  of  these  forces,  we  can  take  the  posi- 
tive, the  active  attitude,  that  of  mastery,  and 
so  attract  the  higher  and  more  valuable  influ- 
ences, exactly  as  we  will  to. 

We  are  all  much  more  influenced  by  the 
thought  -  forces  and  mental  states  of  those 
around  us  and  of  the  world  at  large  than  we 
have  even  the  slightest  conception  of.  If  not 
self -hypnotized  into  certain  beliefs  and  prac- 
tices, we  are,  so  to  speak,  semi-hypnotized 
through  the  influence  of  the  thoughts  of 
others,  even  though  unconsciously  both  on 
their  part  and  on  ours.  We  are  so  influenced 
and  enslaved  in  just  the  degree  that  we  fail 
to  recognize  the  power  and  omnipotence  of 
our  own  forces,  and  so  become  slaves  to  cus- 
tom, conventionality,  the  opinions  of  others, 
and  so  in  like  proportion  lose  our  own  individ- 
uality and  powers.  He  who  in  his  own 
mind  takes  the  attitude  of  the  slave,  by  the 
power  of  his  own  thoughts  and  the  forces  he 
thus  attracts  to  him,  becomes  the  slave.  He 
who  in  his  own  mind  takes  the  attitude  of  the 
master,  by  the  same  power  of  his  own  thoughts 
and  the  forces  he  thus  attracts  to  him,  be- 
comes the  master.  Each  is  building  his 


1 68      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

world  from  within,  and,  if  outside  forces  play, 
it  is  because  he  allows  them  to  play;  and  he 
has  it  in  his  own  power  to  determine  whether 
these  shall  be  positive,  uplifting,  ennobling, 
strengthening,  success-giving,  or  negative,  de- 
grading, weakening,  failure-bringing. 

Nothing  is  more  subtle  than  thought,  noth- 
ing more  powerful,  nothing  more  irresistible 
in  its  operations,  when  rightly  applied  and  held 
to  with  a  faith  and  fidelity  that  is  unswerving, 
—  a  faith  and  fidelity  that  never  knows  the 
neutralizing  effects  of  doubt  and  fear.  If  one 
have  aspirations  and  a  sincere  desire  for  a 
higher  and  better  condition,  so  far  as  advan- 
tages, facilities,  associates,  or  any  surround- 
ings or  environments  are  concerned,  and  if 
he  continually  send  out  his  highest  thought- 
forces  for  the  realization  of  these  desires,  and 
continually  water  these  forces  with  firm  expec- 
tation as  to  their  fulfilment,  he  will  sooner  or 
later  find  himself  in  the  realization  of  these 
desires,  and  all  in  accordance  with  natural 
laws  and  forces. 

Fear  brings  its  own  fulfilment  the  same  as 
hope.  The  same  law  operates,  and  if,  as  our 
good  and  valued  friend,  Job,  said  when  the 
darkest  days  were  setting  in  upon  him,  —  that 
which  I  feared  has  come  upon  me,  —  was 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING       169 

true,  how  much  more  surely  could  he  have 
brought  about  the  opposite  conditions,  those 
he  would  have  desired,  had  he  have  had  even 
the  slightest  realization  of  his  own  powers,  and 
had  he  acted  the  part  of  the  master  instead  of 
that  of  the  servant,  had  he  have  dictated 
terms  instead  of  being  dictated  to,  and  thus 
suffering  the  consequences. 

If  one  finds  himself  in  any  particular  condi- 
tion, in  the  midst  of  any  surroundings  or  en- 
vironments that  are  not  desirable,  that  have 
nothing  —  at  least  for  any  length  of  time  — 
that  is  of  value  to  him,  for  his  highest  life 
and  unfoldment,  he  has  the  remedy  entirely 
within  his  own  grasp  the  moment  he  realizes 
the  power  and  supremacy  of  the  forces  of  the 
mind  and  spirit;  and,  unless  he  intelligently 
use  these  forces,  he  drifts.  Unless  through 
them  he  becomes  master  and  dictates,  he  be- 
comes the  slave  and  is  dictated  to,  and  so  is 
driven  hither  and  thither. 

Earnest,  sincere  desire,  sincere  aspiration 
for  higher  and  better  conditions  or  means  to 
realize  them,  the  thought-forces  actively  sent 
out  for  their  realization,  these  continually 
watered  by  firm  expectation  without  allowing 
the  contrary,  neutralizing  force  of  fear  ever 
to  enter  in, —  this,  accompanied  by  rightly 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEK1NG 


directed  work  and  activity,  will  bring  about 
the  fullest  realization  of  one's  highest  desires 
and  aspirations  with  a  certainty  as  absolute 
as  that  effect  follows  cause.  Each  and  every 
one  of  us  can  thus  make  for  himself  ever 
higher  and  higher  conditions,  can  attract  ever 
and  ever  higher  influences,  can  realize  an  ever 
higher  and  higher  ideal  in  life.  These  are 
the  forces  that  are  within  us,  simply  waiting  to 
be  recognized  and  used,  —  the  forces  that  we 
should  infuse  into  and  mould  every  -day  life 
with.  The  moment  we  vitally  recognize  them, 
they  become  our  servants  and  wait  upon  our 
bidding. 

Are  you,  for  example,  a  young  man  or  a 
young  woman  desiring  a  college,  a  university 
education,  or  have  you  certain  literary  or 
artistic  instincts  your  soul  longs  the  more 
fully  to  realize  and  actualize,  and  seems  there 
no  way  open  for  you  to  realize  the  fulfilment 
of  your  desires?  But  the  power  is  in  your 
hands  the  moment  you  recognize  it  there. 
Begin  at  once  to  set  the  right  forces  into 
operation.  Put  forth  your  ideal,  which  will 
begin  to  clothe  itself  in  material  form,  send 
out  your  thought-forces  for  its  realization, 
continually  hold  and  add  to  them,  always 
strongly  but  always  calmly,  never  allow  the 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING       171 

element  of  fear,  which  will  keep  the  realiza- 
tion just  so  much  farther  away,  to  enter  in ; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  continually  water  with 
firm  expectation  all  the  forces  thus  set  into 
operation.  Do  not  then  sit  and  idly  fold 
the  hands,  expecting  to  see  all  things  drop 
into  the  lap,  —  God  feeds  the  sparrow,  but  he 
does  not  throw  the  food  into  its  nest, —  but 
take  hold  of  the  first  thing  that  offers  itself 
for  you  to  do, —  work  in  the  fields,  at  the  desk, 
saw  wood,  wash  dishes,  tend  behind  the  coun- 
ter, or  whatever  it  may  be,  —  be  faithful  to  the 
thing  in  hand,  always  expecting  something 
better,  and  know  that  this  in  hand  is  the  thing 
that  will  open  to  you  the  next  higher,  and  this 
the  next  and  the  next ;  and  so  realize  that  each 
thing  thus  taken  hold  of  is  but  the  agency  that 
takes  you  each  time  a  step  nearer  the  realiza- 
tion of  your  fondest  ideals.  You  then  hold 
the  key;  and  bolts  that  otherwise  would  re- 
main immovable,  by  this  mighty  force,  will 
be  thrown  before  you. 

We  are  born  to  be  neither  slaves  nor  beg- 
gars, but  to  dominion  and  to  plenty.  This  is 
our  rightful  heritage,  if  we  will  but  recognize 
and  lay  claim  to  it.  Many  a  man  and  many  a 
woman  is  to-day  longing  for  conditions  better 
and  higher  than  he  or  she  is  in,  who  might  be 


1 72      WHAT   ALL    THE    WORLD  S   A-SEEKING 

using   the    same  time  now  spent  in  vain,    in- 
definite,   spasmodic   longings,    in   putting   into 
operation   forces    which,   accompanied    by   the 
right  personal  activity,    would  speedily  bring 
the    fullest   realization   of   his  or  her  fondest 
dreams.     The  great  universe  is  filled  with  an 
abundance  of  all  things,  filled  to  overflowing. 
All  there  is,    is  in  her,   waiting  only  for  the 
touch  of  the  right  forces  to  cast  them    forth. 
She  is  no  respecter  of  persons  outside  of  the 
fact  that  she  always  responds  to  the  demands 
of  the  man  or  the  woman  who  knows  and  uses 
the   forces  and   powers  he  or  she  is  endowed 
with.      And  to  the  demands  of  such  she  always 
opens  her  treasure-house,  for  the  supply  is  al- 
ways equal  to  the  demand.      All  things  are  in 
the  hands  of  him  who  knows  they  are  there. 
Of  all  known  forms  of  energy,   thought  is 
the  most   subtle,    the  most   irresistible  force. 
It  has  always  been  operating;    but,   so  far  as 
the  great  masses  of  the  people  are  concerned, 
it  has  been  operating  blindly,  or,   rather,  they 
have  been  blind  to  its  mighty  power,   except 
in  the  cases  of  a  few  here  and  there.      And 
these,  as  a  consequence,  have  been  our  proph- 
ets, our  seers,  our  sages,  our  saviors,   our  men 
of  great  and  mighty  power.      We  are  just  be- 
ginning to  grasp  the    tremendous    truth    that 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING 


there  is  a  science  of  thought,  and  that  the  laws 
governing  it  can  be  known  and  scientifically 
applied.  The  man  who  understands  and  who 
appropriates  this  fact  has  literally  all  things 
under  his  control.  Heredity  and  its  attendant 
circumstances  and  influences  ?  you  ask.  Most 
surely.  The  barriers  which  heredity  builds, 
the  same  as  those  environment  erects,  when 
the  awakened  interior  forces  are  considered, 
are  as  mud  walls  standing  within  the  range  of 
a  Krupp  gun  :  shattered  and  crumbled  they  are 
when  the  tremendous  force  is  applied. 

Thought  needs  direction  to  be  effective,  and 
upon  this  effective  results  depend  as  much  as 
upon  the  force  itself.  This  brings  us  to  the 
will.  Will  is  not  as  is  so  often  thought,  a 
force  in  itself;  will  is  the  directing  power. 
Thought  is  the  force.  Will  gives  direction. 
Thought  scattered  gives  the  weak,  the  uncer- 
tain, the  vacillating,  the  aspiring,  but  the 
never-doing,  the  I-would  -like-to,  but  the  get- 
no-where,  the  attain-to-nothing  man  or  woman. 
Thought  steadily  directed  by  the  will,  gives 
the  strong,  the  firm,  the  never-yielding,  the 
never-know-defeat  man  or  woman,  the  man 
or  woman  who  uses  the  very  difficulties  and 
hindrances  that  would  dishearten  the  ordinary 
person,  as  stones  with  which  he  paves  a  way 


1/4      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING 

over  which  he  triumphantly  walks,  who,  by 
the  very  force  he  carries  with  him,  so  neutral- 
izes and  transmutes  the  very  obstacles  that 
would  bar  his  way  that  they  fall  before  him, 
and  in  turn  aid  him  on  his  way;  the  man  or 
woman  who,  like  the  eagle,  uses  the  very 
contrary  wind  that  would  thwart  his  flight, 
that  would  turn  him  and  carry  him  in  the  oppo- 
site direction,  as  the  very  agency  upon  which 
he  mounts  and  mounts  and  mounts,  until  actu- 
ally lost  to  the  human  eye,  and  which,  in  addi- 
tion to  thus  aiding  him,  brings  to  him  an  ever 
fuller  realization  of  his  own  powers,  or  in 
other  words,  an  ever  greater  power. 

It  is  this  that  gives  the  man  or  the  woman 
who  in  storm  or  in  sunny  weather,  rides  over 
every  obstacle,  throws  before  him  every  bar- 
rier, and,  as  Browning  has  said,  finally 
"arrives."  Take,  for  example,  the  successful 
business  man,  —  for  it  is  all  one,  the  law  is  the 
same  in  all  cases,  —  the  man  who  started  with 
nothing  except  his  own  interior  equipments. 
He  has  made  up  his  mind  to  one  thing,  —  suc- 
cess. This  is  his  ideal.  He  thinks  success, 
he  sees  success.  He  refuses  to  see  anything 
else.  He  expects  success  :  he  thus  attracts  it  to 
him,  his  thought-forces  continually  attract  to 
him  every  agency  that  makes  for  success.  He 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING       1/5 

has  set  up  the  current,  so  that  every  wind  that 
blows  brings  him  success.  He  doesn't  expect 
failure,  and  so  he  doesn't  invite  it.  He  has 
no  time,  no  energies,  to  waste  in  fears  or  fore- 
bodings. He  is  dauntless,  untiring,  in  his 
efforts.  Let  disaster  come  to-day,  and  to- 
morrow—  ay,  even  yet  to-day  —  he  is  getting 
his  bearings,  he  is  setting  forces  anew  into 
operation ;  and  these  very  forces  are  of  more 
value  to  him  than  the  half  million  dollars  of 
his  neighbor  who  has  suffered  from  the  same 
disaster.  We  speak  of  a  man's  failing  in 
business,  little  thinking  that  the  real  failure 
came  long  before,  and  that  the  final  crash  is 
but  the  culmination,  the  outward  visible  mani- 
festation, of  the  real  failure  that  occurred 
within  possibly  long  ago.  A  man  carries  his 
success  or  his  failure  with  him :  it  is  not  depend- 
ent upon  outside  conditions. 

Will  is  the  steady  directing  power:  it  is 
concentration.  It  is  the  pilot  which,  after  the 
vessel  is  started  by  the  mighty  force  within, 
puts  it  on  its  right  course  and  keeps  it  true  to 
that  course,  the  pilot  under  whose  control  the 
rudder  is  which  brings  the  great  ocean  liner, 
even  through  storms  and  gales,  to  an  exact 
spot  in  the  Liverpool  port  within  a  few  min- 
utes of  its  scheduled  time,  and  at  times  even 


1/6      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

upon  the  very  minute.  Will  is  the  sun-glass 
which  so  concentrates  and  so  focuses  the  sun's 
rays  that  they  quickly  burn  a  hole  through  the 
paper  that  is  held  before  it.  The  same  rays, 
not  thus  concentrated,  not  thus  focused,  would 
fall  upon  the  paper  for  days  without  any  effect 
whatever.  Will  is  the  means  for  the  direct- 
ing, the  concentrating,  the  focusing,  of  the 
thought-forces.  Thought  under  wise  direction, 
—  this  it  is  that  does  the  work,  that  brings 
results,  that  makes  the  successful  career. 
One  object  in  mind  which  we  never  lose  sight 
of;  an  ideal  steadily  held  before  the  mind, 
never  lost  sight  of,  never  lowered,  never 
swerved  from,  —  this,  with  persistence,  deter- 
mines all.  Nothing  can  resist  the  power  of 
thought,  when  thus  directed  by  will. 

May  not  this  power,  then,  be  used  for  base  as 
well  as  for  good  purposes,  for  selfish  as  well  as 
for  unselfish  ends  ?  The  same  with  this  modifi- 
cation,—  the  more  highly  thought  is  spiritual- 
ized, the  more  subtle  and  powerful  it  becomes; 
and  the  more  highly  spiritualized  the  life,  the 
farther  is  it  removed  from  base,  ignoble,  self- 
ish ends.  But,  even  if  it  can  be  thus  used, 
let  him  who  would  so  use  it  be  careful,  let 
him  never  forget  that  that  mighty,  searching, 
omnipotent  law  of  the  right,  of  truth,  of  justice, 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING 


that  runs  through  all  the  universe  and  that  can 
never  be  annulled  or  even  for  a  moment  set 
aside,  will  drive  him  to  the  wall,  will  crush 
him  with  a  terrific  force  if  he  so  use  it. 

Let  him  never  forget  that  whatever  he  may 
get  for  self  at  the  expense  of  some  one  else, 
through  deception,  through  misrepresentation, 
through  the  exercise  of  the  lower  functions 
and  powers,  will  by  a  law  equally  subtle, 
equally  powerful,  be  turned  into  ashes  in  his 
very  hands.  The  honey  he  thinks  he  has  se- 
cured will  be  turned  into  bitterness  as  he 
attempts  to  eat  it;  the  beautiful  fruit  he 
thinks  is  his  will  be  as  wormwood  as  he  tries 
to  enjoy  it  ;  the  rose  he  has  plucked  will 
vanish,  and  he  will  find  himself  clutching  a 
handful  of  thorns,  which  will  penetrate  to 
the  very  quick  and  which  will  flow  the  very 
life-blood  from  his  hands.  For  through  the 
violation  of  a  higher,  an  immutable  law, 
though  he  may  get  this  or  that,  the  power  of 
true  enjoyment  will  be  taken  away,  and  what 
he  gets  will  become  as  a  thorn  in  his  side: 
either  this  or  it  will  sooner  or  later  escape 
from  his  hands.  God's  triumphal-car  moves 
in  a  direction  and  at  a  rate  that  is  certain  and 
absolute,  and  he  who  would  oppose  it  or  go 
contrary  to  it  must  fall  and  be  crushed  beneath 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLDS    A-SEEKING 


its  wheels;  and  for  him  this  crushing  is  neces- 
sary, in  order  that  it  may  bring  him  the  more 
quickly  to  a  knowledge  of  the  higher  laws,  to 
a  realization  of  the  higher  self. 

This  brings  to  our  notice  two  orders  of  will, 
which  we  may  term,  for  convenience'  sake,  the 
human  and  the  divine.  The  human  will  is 
the  one  just  noticed,  the  sense  will,  the  will 
of  the  lower  self,  that  which  seeks  its  own 
ends  regardless  of  its  connection  with  the 
greater  whole.  The  divine  will  is  the  will  of 
the  higher  self,  the  god-self,  that  that  never 
makes  an  error,  that  never  leads  into  difficul- 
ties. How  attain  to  its  realization?  How 
call  it  into  a  dominating  activity?  Through 
an  awakening  to  and  a  living  in  the  higher, 
the  god-self,  thus  making  it  one  with  God's 
will,  one  with  the  will  of  infinite  intelligence, 
infinite  love,  infinite  wisdom,  infinite  power; 
and  when  this  is  done,  no  mistakes  can  be 
made,  any  more  than  limits  can  be  set. 

It  is  thus  that  the  Infinite  Power  works 
through  and  for  us  —  true  inspiration  —  while 
our  part  is  simply  to  see  that  our  connection 
with  this  power  is  consciously  and  perfectly 
kept.  And,  when  we  come  to  a  knowledge  of 
the  true  nature,  a  knowledge  of  the  true  self, 
when  we  come  to  a  conscious  realization  of 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING      1 79 

the  fact  that  we  are  one  with,  a  part  of,  this 
spirit  of  infinite  life,  infinite  love,  infinite 
wisdom,  infinite  power,  and  infinite  plenty,  do 
we  not  see  that  we  lack  for  nothing,  that  all 
things  are  ours?  It  is  then  ours  to  speak  the 
word:  desire  induces  and  gives  place  to  reali- 
zation. If  you  are  intelligence,  if  you  are 
power,  if  you  are  that  all-seeing,  all-knowing, 
all-doing,  all-loving,  all-having,  that  eternal 
self,  that  eternal  one  without  beginning  and 
without  end,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and 
forever,  then  all  things  are  yours,  and  you 
lack  for  nothing ;  and,  when  you  come  con- 
sciously to  know  and  to  live  this  truth,  then  the 
whole  of  life  for  you  is  summed  up  in  the  one 
word  realization.  The  striving,  the  pulling, 
the  running  hither  and  thither  to  accomplish 
this  or  that,  that  takes  place  on  all  planes  of 
life  below  this  highest  plane,  gives  place  to 
this  realization;  and  you  and  your  desire  be- 
come one. 

And  what  does  this  mean  ?  Simply  this : 
that  you  have  found  and  have  literally  entered 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  heaven  means 
harmony,  so  that  you  have  entered  into  the 
kingdom  of  harmony,  —  harmony  or  oneness 
with  the  Infinite  Life,  the  Infinite  God.  And 
do  we  not,  then,  clearly  see  the  rational  and 


ISO      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD*S    A-SEEKING 

scientific  basis  for  the  injunction  —  Seek  ye 
first  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  all  these  other 
things  shall  be  added  unto  you?  Than  this 
there  is  nothing  in  all  the  wide  universe  more 
scientific,  nothing  more  practical ;  and  in  the 
light  of  this  can  we  not  also  see  how  readily 
follows  the  injunction  —  Take  ye  no  thought 
for  the  things  of  the  morrow,  for  the  things  of 
the  morrow  will  take  care  of  themselves? 
This  realization  gives  you  that  care-less  atti- 
tude, free  from  care.  The  Infinite  Power  does 
the  work  for  you,  and  you  are  relieved  of  the 
responsibility.  Your  responsibility  lies  in 
keeping  yourself  in  a  faithful  and  a  never- 
failing  connection  with  this  Infinite  Source. 
Why,  I  know  a  few  lives  that  have  come  into 
such  a  conscious  oneness  with  the  Infinite 
Life,  and  who  so  continually  live  in  its 
realization,  that  all  things  that  have  just  been 
said  are  absolutely  true  in  their  cases.  The 
solution  of  all  things  they  thus  put  into  the 
law,  so  that,  when  the  time  comes,  the  diffi- 
culty is  solved,  the  course  is  clear,  the  way  is 
opened,  or  the  means  are  at  hand.  When  one 
knows  whereof  he  speaks,  of  this  he  can  speak 
with  authority. 

When  this  realization  comes,  fear  goes,  hope 
attends,  faith  dominates, —  the  faith  of  to-day 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING       l8l 

which  gives  place  to  the  realization  of  to-mor- 
row. We  then  have  nothing  to  do  with  the 
past,  nothing  to  do  with  the  future;  for  the 
whole  of  life  is  determined  by  the  ever-pres- 
ent to-day.  As  my  life  to-day  has  been  deter- 
mined by  the  way  I  lived  my  yesterday,  so  my 
to-morrow  is  being  determined  by  the  way  I 
live  my  to-day.  Let  me  then  live  in  this  eter- 
nal now,  and  realize  that  I  am  at  this  very  mo- 
ment living  the  eternal  life  as  much  as  I  ever 
shall  or  can  live  it.  I  will  then  waste  no  time 
with  the  past,  except  perhaps  occasionally  to 
give  thanks  that  its  then  seeming  trials,  sor- 
rows, errors,  and  stumblings  have  brought  me 
all  the  sooner  into  harmony  with  the  laws  of 
the  higher  life.  Let  me  waste  no  time  with 
the  future,  no  time  in  idle  dreaming,  neither 
in  fears  nor  forebodings,  thus  inviting  and 
opening  the  door  for  the  entrance  of  their 
actualizations;  but  rather  let  me,  by  the 
thoughts  and  so  by  the  deeds  of  to-day,  make 
the  future  exactly  what  I  will. 

Every  act  is  preceded  and  given  birth  to  by 
a  thought,  the  act  repeated  forms  the  habit, 
the  habit  determines  the  character,  and  char- 
acter determines  the  life,  the  destiny,  —  a  most 
significant,  a  most  tremendous  truth :  thought 
on  the  one  hand,  life,  destiny,  on  the  other. 


1 82       WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

And  how  simplified,  when  we  realize  that  it  is 
merely  the  thought  of  the  present  hour,  and 
the  next  when  it  comes,  and  the  next,  and  the 
next !  so  life,  destiny,  on  the  one  hand,  the 
thoughts  of  the  present  hour,  on  the  other. 
This  is  the  secret  of  character-building.  How 
wonderfully  simple,  though  what  vigilance  it 
demands! 

What,  shall  we  ask,  is  the  place,  what  the 
value,  of  prayer?  Prayer,  as  every  act  of  de- 
votion, brings  us  into  an  ever  greater  con- 
scious harmony  with  the  Infinite,  the  one  pearl 
of  great  price;  for  it  is  this  harmony  which 
brings  all  other  things.  Prayer  is  the  soul's 
sincere  desire,  and  thus  is  its  own  answer,  as 
the  sincere  desire  made  active  and  accom- 
panied by  faith  sooner  or  later  gives  place  to 
realization;  for  faith  is  an  invisible  and 
invincible  magnet,  and  attracts  to  itself  what- 
ever it  fervently  desires  and  calmly  and  persist- 
ently expects.  This  is  absolute,  and  the  results 
will  be  absolute  in  exact  proportion  as  this 
operation  of  the  thought  forces,  as  this  faith  is 
absolute,  and  relative  in  exact  proportion  as  it 
is  relative.  The  Master  said,  What  things 
soever  ye  desire,  when  ye  pray,  believe  that  ye 
receive  them  and  ye  shall  have  them.  Can 
any  law  be  more  clearly  enunciated,  can  any- 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING       183 

thing  be  more  definite  and  more  absolute  than 
this?  According  to  thy  faith  be  it  unto  thee. 
Do  we  at  times  fail  in  obtaining  the  results 
we  desire  ?  The  fault,  the  failure,  lies  not  in 
the  law  but  in  ourselves.  Regarded  in  its 
right  and  true  light,  than  prayer  there  is  noth- 
ing more  scientific,  nothing  more  valuable, 
nothing  more  effective. 

This  conscious  realization  of  oneness  with 
the  Infinite  Life  is  of  all  things  the  one  thing 
to  be  desired ;  for,  when  this  oneness  is  re- 
alized and  lived  in,  all  other  things  follow  in 
its  train,  there  are  no  desires  that  shall  not  be 
realized,  for  God  has  planted  in  the  human 
breast  no  desire  without  its  corresponding 
means  of  realization.  No  harm  can  come  nigh, 
nothing  can  touch  us,  there  will  be  nothing  to 
fear;  for  we  shall  thus  attract  only  the  good. 
And  whatever  changes  time  may  bring,  under- 
standing the  law,  we  shall  always  expect  some- 
thing better,  and  thus  set  into  operation  the 
forces  that  will  attract  that  something,  realiz- 
ing that  many  times  angels  go  out  that  arch- 
angels may  enter  in ;  and  this  is  always  true 
in  the  case  of  the  life  of  this  higher  realiza- 
tion. And  why  should  we  have  any  fear  what- 
ever,—  fear  even  for  the  nation,  as  is  many 
times  expressed  ?  God  is  behind  His  world, 


I§4         WHAT    ALL   THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

in  love  and  with  infinite  care  and  watchfulness 
working  out  his  great  and  almighty  plans; 
and  whatever  plans  men  may  devise,  He  will 
when  the  time  is  ripe  either  frustrate  and 
shatter,  or  aid  and  push  through  to  their  most 
perfect  culmination,  —  frustrate  and  shatter  if 
contrary  to,  aid  and  actualize  if  in  harmony 
with  His. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  what  a  power  the  life 
that  is  fully  awake,  that  fully  grasps  and  uses 
the  great  forces  of  its  own  interior  self,  can  he 
in  the  service  of  mankind.  One  with  these 
forces  highly  spiritualized  will  not  have  to  go 
here  and  there  to  do  the  greatest  service  for 
mankind.  Such  a  one  can  sit  in  his  cabin, 
in  his  tent,  in  his  own  home,  or,  as  he  goes 
here  and  there,  he  can  continually  send  out 
influences  of  the  most  potent  and  powerful 
nature, —  influences  that  will  have  their  effect, 
that  will  do  their  work,  and  that  will  reach 
to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  world.  Than 
this  there  can  be  no  more  valuable,  more  vital 
service,  nor  one  of  a  higher  nature. 

These  facts,  the  facts  relating  to  the  powers 
that  come  with  the  higher  awakening,  have 
been  dealt  with  somewhat  fully,  to  show  that 
the  matters  along  the  lines  of  man's  interior, 
intuitive,  spiritual,  thought,  soul  life,  in- 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING       185 

stead  of  being,  as  they  are  so  many  times  re- 
garded, merely  indefinite,  sentimental,  or  im- 
practical, are,  on  the  contrary,  powerfully,  om- 
nipotently real,  and  are  of  all  practical  things 
in  the  world  the  most  practical,  and,  in  the 
truest  and  deepest  sense,  the  only  truly  prac- 
tical things  there  are.  And  pre-eminently  is 
this  true  when  we  look  with  a  long  range  of 
vision,  past  the  mere  to-day,  to  the  final  out- 
come, to  the  time  when  that  transition  we  are 
accustomed  to  call  death  takes  place,  and  all 
accumulations  and  possessions  material  are 
left  behind,  and  the  soul  takes  with  it  only 
the  unfoldment  and  growth  of  the  real  life; 
and  unless  it  has  this,  when  all  else  must  be 
left  behind,  it  goes  out  poor  indeed.  And 
a  most  wonderful  and  beautiful  fact  of  it  all 
is  this :  that  all  growth,  all  advancement,  all 
attainment  made  along  the  lines  of  the  spirit- 
ual, the  soul,  the  real  life,  is  so  much  made 
forever,  and  can  never  be  lost.  Hence  the 
great  fact  in  the  admonition,  Lay  not  up  for 
yourselves  treasures  on  earth,  where  moth  doth 
corrupt  and  where  thieves  break  through  and 
steal ;  but  lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in 
heaven, —  the  interior,  spiritual  kingdom, — 
where  neither  moth  doth  corrupt  nor  where 
thieves  break  through  and  steal. 


1 86      WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

What  then,  again  let  us  ask,  is  love  to 
God  ?  It  is  far  more,  we  have  found,  than 
a  mere  sentimental  abstraction.  It  is  this 
awakening  to  the  higher,  the  god-self,  a  com- 
ing into  the  conscious  realization  of  the  fact 
that  your  life  is  one  with,  is  a  part  of,  the 
Infinite  Life,  the  full  realization  of  the  fact 
that  you  are  a  spiritual  being  here  and  now, 
at  this  very  moment,  and  a  living  as  such. 
It  is  being  true  to  the  light  that  lighteth  every 
man  that  cometh  into  the  world,  and  so  a 
finding  of  the  Christ  within ;  a  realization 
of  the  fact  that  God  is  the  life  of  your  life, 
and  so  not  afar  off ;  a  realization  of  a  oneness 
so  perfect  that  you  are  able  to  say,  as  did  His 
other  son,  "I  and  my  Father  are  one" — the 
ultimate  destiny  of  each  human  soul,  each  of 
the  Father's  children,  for  all,  no  matter  what 
differences  man  may  see,  are  equal  in  His 
sight;  and  He  created  not  one  in  vain.  So 
love  to  God  in  its  true  expression  is  not  a 
mere  sentimentality,  a  mere  abstraction :  it  is 
life,  it  is  growth,  it  is  spiritual  awakening 
and  unfoldment,  it  is  realization.  Again,  it 
is  life :  it  is  the  more  abundant  life. 

Then  recognize  this  fact,  and  so  fill  your 
life  with  an  intense,  a  passionate  love  for 
God.  Then  take  this  life,  so  rich,  so  abun- 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING         187 

dant,  and  so  powerful,  and  lose  it  in  the  love 
and  service  of  your  fellow-men,  the  Father's 
other  children.  Fill  it  with  an  intense,  a  pas- 
sionate love  for  service;  and  when  this  shall 
have  been  done,  your  life  is  in  complete  har- 
mony with  all  the  law  and  the  prophets,  in 
complete  harmony  with  the  two  great  and  de- 
termining facts  of  human  life  and  destiny, — 
love  to  God  and  love  to  one's  fellow-men, —  the 
two  eternal  principles  upon  which  the  great 
universal  religion,  which  is  slowly  and  gradu- 
ally evolving  out  an  almost  endless  variety  and 
form,  is  to  rest.  Do  this,  and  feel  once  for 
all  the  power  and  the  thrill  of  the  life  uni- 
versal. Do  this,  and  find  yourself  coming  into 
the  full  realization  of  such  splendors  and 
beauties  as  all  the  royal  courts  of  this 
world  combined  have  never  been  able  even  to 
dream  of. 

When  the  step  from  the  personal  to  the  im- 
personal, from  the  personal,  the  individual, 
to  the  universal,  is  once  made,  the  great  solu- 
tion of  life  has  come;  and  by  this  same  step 
one  enters  at  once  into  the  realm  of  all  power. 
When  this  is  done,  and  one  fully  realizes  the 
fact  that  the  greatest  life  is  the  life  spent  in 
the  service  of  all  mankind,  and  then  when  he 
vitally  grasps  that  great  eternal  principle  of 


1 88     WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

right,  of  truth,  of  justice,  that  runs  through  all 
the  imi verse,  and  which,  though  temporarily 
it  may  seem  to  be  perverted,  always  and  with 
never  an  exception  eventually  prevails,  and 
that  with  an  omnipotent  power, —  he  then 
holds  the  key  to  all  situations. 

A  king  of  this  nature  goes  about  his  work 
absolutely  regardless  of  what  men  may  say  or 
hear  or  think  or  do;  for  he  himself  has  abso- 
lutely nothing  to  gain  or  nothing  to  lose,  and 
nothing  of  this  nature  can  come  near  him  or 
touch  him,  for  he  is  standing  not  in  the  per- 
sonal, but  in  the  universal.  He  is  then  in 
God's  work,  and  the  very  God-powers  are  his, 
and  it  seems  as  if  the  very  angels  of  heaven 
come  to  minister  unto  him  and  to  move  things 
his  way;  and  this  is  true,  very  true,  for  he 
himself  is  simply  moving  God's  way,  and 
when  this  is  so,  the  certainty  of  the  outcome 
is  absolute. 

How  often  did  the  Master  say,  "I  seek  not 
to  do  mine  own  will,  but  the  will  of  the  Father 
who  sent  me"!  Here  is  the  world's  great 
example  of  the  life  out  of  the  personal  and  in 
the  universal,  hence  his  great  power.  The 
same  has  been  true  of  all  the  saviors,  the 
prophets,  the  seers,  the  sages,  and  the  leaders 
in  the  world's  history,  of  all  of  truly  great 
and  lasting  power. 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING       1 89 

He  who  would  then  come  into  the  secret  of 
power  must  come  from  the  personal  into  the 
universal,  and  with  this  comes  not  only  great 
power,  but  also  freedom  from  the  vexations 
and  perplexities  that  rise  from  the  misconstru- 
ing of  motives,  the  opinions  of  others;  for 
such  a  one  cares  nothing  as  to  what  men  may 
say,  or  hear,  or  think,  or  do,  so  long  as  he  is 
true  to  the  great  principles  of  right  and  truth 
before  him.  And,  if  we  will  search  carefully, 
we  shall  find  that  practically  all  the  perplexi- 
ties and  difficulties  of  life  have  their  origin  on 
the  side  of  the  personal. 

Much  is  said  to  young  men  to-day  about 
success  in  life, —  success  generally  though,  as 
the  world  calls  success.  It  is  well,  however, 
always  to  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  there  is 
a  success  which  is  a  miserable,  a  deplorable 
failure;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  a 
failure  which  is  a  grand,  a  noble,  a  God-like 
success.  And  one  crying  need  of  the  age  is 
that  young  men  be  taught  the  true  dignity, 
nobility,  and  power  of  such  a  failure, —  such  a 
failure  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  to-day,  but 
such  a  success  in  the  eyes  of  God  and  the 
coming  ages.  When  this  is  done,  there  will 
be  among  us  more  prophets,  more  saviors, 
more  men  of  grand  and  noble  stature,  who 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 


with  a  firm  and  steady  hand  will  hold  the 
lighted  torch  of  true  advancement  high  up 
among  the  people  ;  and  they  will  be  those 
whom  the  people  will  gladly  follow,  for  they 
will  be  those  who  will  speak  and  move  with 
authority,  true  sons  of  God,  true  brothers 
of  men.  A  man  may  make  his  millions  and 
his  life  be  a  failure  still. 


The  promise  was  given  that  our  conversation 
should  not  be  extended ;  and  unless  we  con- 
clude it  now,  the  promise  will  not  be  kept. 
Our  aim  at  the  outset,  you  will  remember, 
was  to  find  answer  to  the  question  —  How  can 
I  make  life  yield  its.fullest  and  best?  how  can 
I  know  the  true  secret  of  power?  how  can  I 
attain  to  true  greatness?  how  can  I  fill  the 
whole  of  life  with  a  happiness,  a  peace,  a  joy, 
a  satisfaction,  that  is  ever  rich  and  abiding, 
that  ever  increases,  never  diminishes? 

Two  great  laws  come  forward :  the  one, 
that  we  find  our  own  lives  in  losing  them  in 
the  service  of  others, —  love  to  the  fellow- 
man;  the  other,  that  all  life  is  one  with, 
is  part  of,  the  Infinite  Life,  that  we  are  not  ma- 
terial, but  spiritual  beings, —  spiritual  beings 
here  and  now,  and  a  living  as  such,  which 
brings  us  in  turn  to  a  realization  of  the  higher, 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING       IQI 

the  god-self,  thus  bringing  us  into  the  realm 
of  all  peace,  all  power,  and  all  plenty,  —  this 
is  love  to  God. 

And  I  wonder  now  if  we  have  found  the  an- 
swer true  and  satisfactory.  We  have  sat  at 
the  feet  of  the  Master  Teacher,  and  he  has 
told  us  that  we  have.  We  have  found  that 
through  them,  and  through  them  alone,  true 
greatness,  power,  and  success  can  come;  that 
through  them  comes  the  richest  joy,  the  great- 
est peace  and  satisfaction  this  world  can  know. 
We  have  also  found  that,  if  one's  desire  is  to 
make  life  narrow,  pinched,  and  of  little  value, 
to  rob  it  of  its  chief  charms,  the  only  require- 
ment necessary  is  to  become  self-centred,  to 
live  continually  with  the  little,  stunted  self, 
which  will  inevitably  grow  more  and  more  di- 
minutive and  shrivelled  as  time  passes,  instead 
of  reaching  out  and  having  a  part  in  the  great 
life  of  humanity,  thus  inimitably  intensifying 
and  multiplying  his  own.  For  each  act  of 
humble  service  is  that  divine  touching  of  the 
ground  which  enables  one  to  get  the  spring 
whereby  he  leaps  to  ever  greater  heights. 
We  have  found  that  a  recognition  of  these 
two  laws  enables  one  to  grow  and  develop  the 
fullest  and  richest  life  here,  and  that  they  are 
the  two  gates  whereby  all  who  would  must 
enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 


1 92       WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

Around  this  great  and  sweet-incensed  altar 
of  love,  service,  and  self-devotion  to  God  and 
the  fellow-man,  can  and  do  all  mankind  bow 
and  worship.  To  it  can  all  religions  and  creeds 
subscribe :  it  is  the  universal  religion. 

Then  become  at  one  with  God,  as  did  His 
other  son,  through  the  awakening  to  the  real 
self  and  by  living  continually  in  this  the 
higher,  the  god-self.  Become  at  one  with 
humanity,  as  did  His  other  son,  by  bringing 
your  life  into  harmony  with  this  great,  immu- 
table law  of  love  and  service  and  self-devotion, 
and  so  feel  once  for  all  the  power  and  the 
thrill  of  the  life  universal. 

Yours  will  then  be  a  life  the  greatest,  the 
grandest,  the  most  joyous  this  world  can 
know;  for  you  will  indeed  be  living  the 
Christ-life,  the  life  that  is  beyond  compare, 
the  life  to  which  all  the  world  stretches  out 
its  eager  palms,  and  innumerable  companies 
will  rise  up  and  call  you  blessed,  and  give 
thanks  that  such  a  life  is  the  rich  heritage  of 
the  world.  The  song  continually  arising  from 
your  lips  will  then  be,  There  is  joy,  only  joy ;  for 
we  are  all  one  with  the  Infinite  Life,  all  parts 
of  the  one  great  whole,  and  the  Spirit  of  Infinite 
Goodness  and  Love  is  ever  ruling  over  all. 


PART   VI. 

CHARACTER-BUILDING    THOUGHT 
POWER. 


CHARACTER-BUILDING    THOUGHT 
POWER. 

A  thought,  — good  or  evil,  —  an  act,  in  time  a  habit,  —  so  runs  life's 
law  :  what  you  live  in  your  thought-world,  that,  sooner  or  later,  you 
will  find  objectified  in  your  life, 

UNCONSCIOUSLY  we  are  forming  habits  every 
moment  of  our  lives.  Some  are  habits  of  a 
desirable  nature ;  some  are  those  of  a  most 
undesirable  nature.  Some,  though  not  so  bad 
in  themselves,  are  exceedingly  bad  in  their 
cumulative  effects,  and  cause  us  at  times  much 
loss,  much  pain  and  anguish,  while  their  oppo- 
sites  would,  on  the  contrary,  bring  us  much 
peace  and  joy,  as  well  as  a  continually  increas- 
ing power. 

Have  we  it  within  our  power  to  determine  at 
all  times  what  types  of  habits  shall  take  form  in 
our  lives?  In  other  words,  is  habit-forming, 
character-building,  a  matter  of  mere  chance,  or 
have  we  it  within  our  own  control?  We  have, 
entirely  and  absolutely.  "  I  will  be  what  I  will 
to  be,"  can  be  said  and  should  be  said  by  every 
human  soul. 

After  this  has  been  bravely  and  determinedly 
said,  and  not  only  said,  but  fully  inwardly 
realized,  something  yet  remains.  Something 


196         WHAT   ALL   THE  WORLD'S   A-SEEKING 

remains  to  be  said  regarding  the  great  law  un- 
derlying habit-forming,  character-building  ;  for 
there  is  a  simple,  natural,  and  thoroughly  sci- 
entific method  that  all  should  know.  A  method 
whereby  old,  undesirable,  earth-binding  habits 
can  be  broken,  and  new,  desirable,  heaven-lifting 
habits  can  be  acquired,  —  a  method  whereby 
life  in  part  or  in  its  totality  can  be  changed, 
provided  one  is  sufficiently  in  earnest  to  know, 
and,  knowing  it,  to  apply  the  law. 

Thought  is  the  force  underlying  all.  And 
what  do  we  mean  by  this?  Simply  this:  Your 
every  act  —  every  conscious  act  —  is  preceded 
by  a  thought.  Your  dominating  thoughts  de- 
termine your  dominating  actions.  The  acts 
repeated  crystallize  themselves  into  the  habit. 
The  aggregate  of  your  habits  is  your  character. 
Whatever,  then,  you  would  have  your  acts,  you 
must  look  well  to  the  character  of  the  thought 
you  entertain.  Whatever  act  you  would  not  do, 
—  habit  you  would  not  acquire,  —  you  must  look 
well  to  it  that  you  do  not  entertain  the  type  of 
thought  that  will  give  birth  to  this  act,  this 
habit. 

It  is  a  simple  psychological  law  that  any  type 
of  thought,  if  entertained  for  a  sufficient  length 
of  time,  will,  by  and  by,  reach  the  motor  tracks  of 
the  brain,  and  finally  burst  forth  into  action. 


WHAT   ALL   THE   WORLD'S   A-SEEKING        197 

Murder  can  be  and  many  times  is  committed  in 
this  way,  the  same  as  all  undesirable  things  are 
done.  On  the  other  hand,  the  greatest  powers 
are  grown,  the  most  God-like  characteristics  are 
engendered,  the  most  heroic  acts  are  performed 
in  the  same  way. 

The  thing  clearly  to  understand  is  this  :  That 
the  thought  is  always  parent  to  the  act.  Now, 
we  have  it  entirely  in  our  own  hands  to  deter- 
mine exactly  what  thoughts  we  entertain.  In 
the  realm  of  our  own  minds  we  have  absolute 
control,  or  we  should  have,  and  if  at  any  time 
we  have  not,  then  there  is  a  method  by  which 
we  can  gain  control,  and  in  the  realm  of  the 
mind  become  thorough  masters.  In  order  to 
get  to  the  very  foundation  of  the  matter,  let  us 
look  to  this  for  a  moment.  For  if  thought  is 
always  parent  to  our  acts,  habits,  character,  life, 
then  it  is  first  necessary  that  we  know  fully  how 
to  control  our  thoughts. 

Here  let  us  refer  to  that  law  of  the  mind 
which  is  the  same  as  is  the  law  in  connection 
with  the  reflex  nerve  system  of  the  body,  the 
law  which  says  that  whenever  one  does  a  certain 
thing  in  a  certain  way  it  is  easier  to  do  the  same 
thing  in  the  same  way  the  next  time,  and  still 
easier  the  next,  and  the  next,  and  the  next, 
until  in  time  it  comes  to  pass  that  no  effort  is 


198         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

required,  or  no  effort  worth  speaking  of;  but 
on  the  contrary,  to  do  the  opposite  would  re- 
quire the  effort.  The  mind  carries  with  it  the 
power  that  perpetuates  its  own  type  of  thought, 
the  same  as  the  body  carries  with  it  through  the 
reflex  nerve  system  the  power  which  perpetu- 
ates and  makes  continually  easier  its  own  par- 
ticular acts.  Thus  a  simple  effort  to  control 
one's  thoughts,  a  simple  setting  about  it,  even  if 
at  first  failure  is  the  result,  and  even  if  for  a  time 
failure  seems  to  be  about  the  only  result,  will  in 
time,  sooner  or  later,  bring  him  to  the  point  of 
easy,  full,  and  complete  control. 

Each  one,  then,  can  grow  the  power  of  deter- 
mining, controlling  his  thought,  the  power  of 
determining  what  types  of  thought  he  shall  and 
what  types  he  shall  not  entertain.  For  let  us 
never  part  in  mind  with  this  fact,  that  every 
earnest  effort  along  any  line  makes  the  end  aimed 
at  just  a  little  easier  for  each  succeeding  effort, 
even  if,  as  has  been  said,  apparent  failure  is  the 
result  of  the  earlier  efforts.  This  is  a  case  where 
even  failure  is  success,  for  the  failure  is  not  in 
the  effort,  and  every  earnest  effort  adds  an  incre- 
ment of  power  that  will  eventually  accomplish 
the  end  aimed  at.  We  can,ihen,  gain  the  full  and 
complete  power  of  determining  what  character, 
what  type  of  thoughts  we  entertai» 


WHAT   ALL   THE   WORLD'S   A-SEEKING        199 

Shall  we  now  give  attention  to  some  two  or 
three  concrete  cases?  Here  is  a  man,  the 
cashier  of  a  large  mercantile  establishment,  or 
cashier  of  a  bank.  In  his  morning  paper  he 
reads  of  a  man  who  has  become  suddenly  rich, 
has  made  a  fortune  of  half  a  million  or  a  mil- 
lion dollars  in  a  few  hours  through  speculation 
on  the  stock  market.  Perhaps  he  has  seen  an 
account  of  another  man  who  has  done  prac- 
tically the  same  thing  lately.  He  is  not  quite 
wise  enough,  however,  to  comprehend  the  fact 
that  when  he  reads  of  one  or  two  cases  of  this 
kind  he  could  find,  were  he  to  look  into  the 
matter  carefully,  one  or  two  hundred  cases  of 
men  who  have  lost  all  they  had  in  the  same 
way.  He  thinks,  however,  that  he  will  be  one 
of  the  fortunate  ones.  He  does  not  fully  realize 
that  there  are  no  short  cuts  to  wealth  honestly 
made.  He  takes  a  part  of  his  savings,  and  as 
is  true  in  practically  all  cases  of  this  kind,  he 
loses  all  that  he  has  put  in.  Thinking  now  that 
he  sees  why  he  lost,  and  that  had  he  more 
money  he  would  be  able  to  get  back  what  he 
has  lost,  and  perhaps  make  a  handsome  sum  in 
addition,  and  make  it  quickly,  the  thought 
comes  to  him  to  use  some  of  the  funds  he  has 
charge  of.  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  if  not  in 
ten  cases  in  every  ten,  the  results  that  inevitably 


iOO        WHAT  ALL  THE  WORLD'S 


follow  this  are  known  sufficiently  well  to  make 
it  unnecessary  to  follow  him  farther.  Where  is 
the  man's  safety  in  the  light  of  what  we  have 
been  considering?  Simply  this:  the  moment 
the  thought  of  using  for  his  own  purpose  funds 
belonging  to  others  enters  his  mind,  if  he  is 
wise  he  will  instantly  put  the  thought  from  his 
mind.  If  he  is  a  fool  he  will  entertain  it.  In 
the  degree  in  which  he  entertains  it,  it  will  grow 
upon  him  ;  it  will  become  the  absorbing  thought 
in  his  mind  ;  it  will  finally  become  master  of  his 
will  power,  and  through  rapidly  succeeding 
steps,  dishonor,  shame,  degradation,  peniten- 
tiary, remorse  will  be  his.  It  is  easy  for  him  to 
put  the  thought  from  his  mind  when  it  first 
enters  ;  but  as  he  entertains  it,  it  grows  into 
such  proportions  that  it  becomes  more  and 
more  difficult  for  him  to  put  it  from  his  mind  ; 
and  by  and  by  it  becomes  practically  impossible 
for  him  to  do  it.  The  light  of  the  match,  which 
but  a  little  effort  of  the  breath  would  have  ex- 
tinguished at  first,  has  imparted  a  flame  that  is 
raging  through  the  entire  building,  and  now  it 
is  almost,  if  not  quite  impossible  to  conquer  it. 
Shall  we  notice  another  concrete  case?  a  trite 
case,  perhaps,  but  one  in  which  we  can  see  how 
habit  is  formed,  and  also  how  the  same  habit 
can  be  unformed.  Here  is  a  young  man,  he 


WHAT    ALL   THE    WORLD  S   A-SEEKING        2OI 

may  be  the  son  of  poor  parents,  or  he  may  be 
the  son  of  rich  parents ;  one  in  the  ordinary 
ranks  of  life,  or  one  of  high  social  standing, 
whatever  that  means.  He  is  good-hearted,  one 
of  good  impulses,  generally  speaking,  —  a  good 
fellow.  He  is  out  with  some  companions,  com- 
panions of  the  same  general  type.  They  are 
out  for  a  pleasant  evening,  out  for  a  good 
time.  They  are  apt  at  times  to  be  thoughtless, 
even  careless.  The  suggestion  is  made  by 
one  of  the  company,  not  that  they  get  drunk, 
no,  not  at  all;  but  merely  that  they  go  and 
have  something  to  drink  together.  The  young 
man  whom  we  first  mentioned,  wanting  to  be 
genial,  scarcely  listens  to  the  suggestion  that 
comes  to  his  inner  consciousness  —  that  it  will 
be  better  for  him  not  to  fall  in  with  the  others 
in  this.  He  does  not  stop  long  enough  to 
realize  the  fact  that  the  greatest  strength  and 
nobility  of  character  lies  always  in  taking  a 
firm  stand  on  the  side  of  the  right,  and  allow 
himself  to  be  influenced  by  nothing  that  will 
weaken  this  stand.  He  goes,  therefore,  with  his 
companions  to  the  drinking  place.  With  the 
same  or  with  other  companions  this  is  repeated 
now  and  then ;  and  each  time  it  is  repeated  his 
power  of  saying  "  No  "  is  gradually  decreasing. 
In  this  way  he  has  grown  a  little  liking  for 


2O2         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

intoxicants,  and  takes  them  perhaps  now  and 
then  by  himself.  He  does  not  dream,  or  in  the 
slightest  degree  realize,  what  way  he  is  tending, 
until  there  comes  a  day  when  he  wakens  to  the 
consciousness  of  the  fact  that  he  hasn't  the 
power  nor  even  the  impulse  to  resist  the  taste 
which  has  gradually  grown  into  a  minor  form 
of  craving  for  intoxicants.  Thinking,  however, 
that  he  will  be  able  to  stop  when  he  is  really 
in  danger  of  getting  into  the  drink  habit,  he 
goes  thoughtlessly  and  carelessly  on.  We  will 
pass  over  the  various  intervening  steps  and 
come  to  the  time  when  we  find  him  a  confirmed 
drunkard.  It  is  simply  the  same  old  story  told 
a  thousand  or  even  a  million  times  over. 

He  finally  awakens  to  his  true  condition ; 
and  through  the  shame,  the  anguish,  the  degra- 
dation, and  the  want  that  comes  upon  him  he 
longs  for  a  return  of  the  days  when  he  was  a 
free  man.  But  hope  has  almost  gone  from  his 
life.  It  would  have  been  easier  for  him  never 
to  have  begun,  and  easier  for  him  to  have 
stopped  before  he  reached  his  present  con- 
dition, but  even  in  his  present  condition, 
be  it  the  lowest  and  the  most  helpless  and 
hopeless  that  can  be  ima'gined,  he  has  the 
power  to  get  out  of  it  and  be  a  free  man  once 
again.  Let  us  see.  The  desire  for  drink  comes 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING        203 

upon  him  again.  If  he  entertain  the  thought, 
the  desire,  he  is  lost  again.  His  only  hope,  his 
only  means  of  escape  is  this :  the  moment,  aye, 
the  very  instant  the  thought  comes  to  him,  if  he 
will  put  it  out  of  his  mind  he  will  thereby  put 
out  the  little  flame  of  the  match.  If  he  enter- 
tain the  thought  the  little  flame  will  communi- 
cate itself  until  almost  before  he  is  aware  of  it 
a  consuming  fire  is  raging,  and  then  effort  is 
almost  useless.  The  thought  must  be  banished 
from  the  mind  the  instant  it  enters ;  dalliance 
with  it  means  failure  and  defeat,  or  a  fight  that 
will  be  indescribably  fiercer  than  it  would  be  if 
the  thought  is  ejected  at  the  beginning. 

And  here  we  must  say  a  word  regarding  a 
certain  great  law  that  we  may  call  the  "  law  of 
indirectness."  A  thought  can  be  put  out  of  the 
mind  easier  and  more  successfully,  not  by  dwell- 
ing upon  it,  not  by  attempting  to  put  it  out 
directly,  but  by  throwing  the  mind  on  to  some 
other  object,  by  putting  some  other  object  of 
thought  into  the  mind.  This  may  be,  for  ex- 
ample, the  ideal  of  full  and  perfect  self-mastery, 
or  it  may  be  something  of  a  nature  entirely 
distinct  from  the  thought  which  presents  itself, 
something  to  which  the  mind  goes  easily  and 
naturally.  This  will  in  time  become  the  absorb- 
ing thought  in  the  mind,  and  the  danger  is  past. 


204         WHAT   ALL   THE   WORLD'S   A-SEEKING 

This  same  course  of  action  repeated,  will  gradu- 
ally grow  the  power  of  putting  more  readily 
out  of  mind  the  thought  of  drink  as  it  presents 
itself,  and  will  gradually  grow  the  power  of 
putting  into  the  mind  those  objects  of  thought 
one  most  desires.  The  result  will  be  that  as 
time  passes  the  thought  of  drink  will  present 
itself  less  and  less,  and  when  it  does  present 
itself  it  can  be  put  out  of  the  mind  more  easily 
each  succeeding  time,  until  the  time  comes 
when  it  can  be  put  out  without  difficulty,  and 
eventually  the  time  will  come  when  the  thought 
will  enter  the  mind  no  more  at  all. 

Still  another  case.  You  may  be  more  or  less 
of  an  irritable  nature  —  naturally,  perhaps,  pro- 
voked easily  to  anger.  Some  one  says  some- 
thing or  does  something  that  you  dislike,  and 
your  first  impulse  is  to  show  resentment  and 
possibly  to  give  way  to  anger.  In  the  degree  that 
you  allow  this  resentment  to  display  itself,  that 
you  allow  yourself  to  give  way  to  anger,  in 
that  degree  will  it  become  easier  to  do  the  same 
thing  when  any  cause,  even  a  very  slight  cause, 
presents  itself.  It  will,  moreover,  become  con- 
tinually harder  for  you  to  refrain  from  it,  until 
resentment,  anger,  and  possibly  even  hatred  and 
revenge  become  characteristics  of  your  nature, 
robbing  it  of  its  sunniness,  its  charm,  and  its 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING         205 

brightness  for  all  with  whom  you  come  in  con- 
tact. If,  however,  the  instant  the  impulse  to 
resentment  and  anger  arises,  you  check  it  then 
and  there,  and  throw  the  mind  on  to  some  other 
object  of  thought,  the  power  will  gradually 
grow  itself  of  doing  this  same  thing  more 
readily,  more  easily,  as  succeeding  like  causes 
present  themselves,  until  by  and  by  the  time 
will  come  when  there  will  be  scarcely  anything 
that  can  irritate  you,  and  nothing  that  can  im- 
pel you  to  anger ;  until  by  and  by  a  matchless 
brightness  and  charm  of  nature  and  disposition 
will  become  habitually  yours,  a  brightness  and 
charm  you  would  scarcely  think  possible  to-day. 
And  so  we  might  take  up  case  after  case,  char- 
acteristic after  characteristic,  habit  after  habit. 
The  habit  of  fault-finding  and  its  opposite  are 
grown  in  identically  the  same  way ;  the  charac- 
teristic of  jealousy  and  its  opposite ;  the  char- 
acteristic of  fear  and  its  opposite.  In  this  same 
way  we  grow  either  love  or  hatred ;  in  this  way 
we  come  to  take  a  gloomy,  pessimistic  view  of 
life,  which  objectifies  itself  in  a  nature,  a  dis- 
position of  this  type,  or  we  grow  that  sunny, 
hopeful,  cheerful,  buoyant  nature  that  brings 
with  it  so  much  joy  and  beauty  and  power  for 
ourselves,  as  well  as  so  much  hope  and  inspira- 
tion and  joy  for  all  the  world. 


2O6          WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

There  is  nothing  more  true  in  connection  with 
human  life  than  that  we  grow  into  the  likeness 
of  those  things  we  contemplate.  Literally  and 
scientifically  and  necessarily  true  is  it  that,  "  as 
a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he."  The 
"  is  "  part  is  his  character.  His  character  is  the 
sum  total  of  his  habits.  His  habits  have  been 
formed  by  his  conscious  acts ;  but  every  con- 
scious act  is,  as  we  have  found,  preceded  by  a 
thought.  And  so  we  have  it — thought  on  the 
one  hand,  character,  life,  destiny  on  the  other. 
And  simple  it  becomes  when  we  bear  in  mind 
that  it  is  simply  the  thought  of  the  present 
moment,  and  the  next  moment  when  it  is  upon 
us,  and  then  the  next,  and  so  on  through  all 
time. 

One  can  in  this  way  attain  to  whatever  ideals 
he  would  attain  to.  Two  steps  are  necessary : 
first,  as  the  days  pass,  to  form  one's  ideals ;  and 
second,  to  follow  them  continually  whatever  may 
arise,  wherever  they  may  lead  him.  Always 
remember  that  the  great  and  strong  character  is 
the  one  who  is  ever  ready  to  sacrifice  the  pres- 
ent pleasure  for  the  future  good.  He  who  will 
thus  follow  his  highest  ideals  as  they  present 
themselves  to  him  day  after  day,  year  after 
year,  will  find  that  as  Dante,  following  his  be- 
loved from  world  to  world,  finally  found  her  at 


WHAT    ALL   THE   WORLD'S   A-SEEKING        2Oj 

the  gates  of  Paradise,  so  he  will  find  himself 
eventually  at  the  same  gates.  Life  is  not,  we 
may  say,  for  mere  passing  pleasure,  but  for  the 
highest  unfoldment  that  one  can  attain  to,  the 
noblest  character  that  one  can  grow,  and  for  the 
greatest  service  that  one  can  render  to  all  man- 
kind. In  this,  however,  we  will  find  the  highest 
pleasure,  for  in  this  the  only  real  pleasure  lies. 
He  who  would  find  it  by  any  short  cuts,  or  by 
entering  upon  any  other  paths,  will  inevitably 
find  that  his  last  state  is  always  worse  than  his 
first;  and  if  he  proceed  upon  paths  other  than 
these  he  will  find  that  he  will  never  find  real 
and  lasting  pleasure  at  all.  The  question  is 
not,  What  are  the  conditions  in  our  lives?  but, 
How  do  we  meet  the  conditions  that  we  find 
there  ?  And  whatever  the  conditions  are,  it  is 
unwise  and  profitless  to  look  upon  them,  even 
if  they  are  conditions  that  we  would  have  other- 
wise, in  the  attitude  of  complaint,  for  complaint 
will  bring  depression,  and  depression  will  weaken 
and  possibly  even  kill  the  spirit  that  would 
engender  the  power  that  would  enable  us  to 
bring  into  our  lives  an  entirely  new  set  of 
conditions. 

In  order  to  be  concrete,  even  at  the  risk  of 
being  personal,  I  will  say  that  in  my  own  expe- 
rience there  have  come  at  various  times  into  my 


2C)8         WHAT    ALL   THE    WORLD'S   A-SEEKING 

life  circumstances  and  conditions  that  I  gladly 
would  have  run  from  at  the  time  —  conditions 
that  caused  at  the  time  humiliation  and  shame 
and  anguish  of  spirit.  But  invariably,  as  suffi- 
cient time  has  passed,  I  have  been  able  to  look 
back  and  see  clearly  the  part  which  every  ex- 
perience of  the  type  just  mentioned  had  to  play 
in  my  life.  I  have  seen  the  lessons  it  was  essen- 
tial for  me  to  learn ;  and  the  result  is  that  now 
I  would  not  drop  a  single  one  of  these  expe- 
riences from  my  life,  humiliating  and  hard  -to 
bear  as  they  were  at  the  time ;  no,  not  for  the 
world.  And  here  is  also  a  lesson  I  have  learned  : 
whatever  conditions  are  in  my  life  to-day  that 
are  not  the  easiest  and  most  agreeable,  and 
whatever  conditions  of  this  type  all  coming 
time  may  bring,  I  will  take  them  just  as  they 
come,  without  complaint,  without  depression, 
and  meet  them  in  the  wisest  possible  way; 
knowing  that  they  are  the  best  possible  condi- 
tions that  could  be  in  my  life  at  the  time,  or 
otherwise  they  would  not  be  there ;  realizing 
the  fact  that,  although  I  may  not  at  the  time  see 
why  they  are  in  my  life,  although  I  may  not 
see  just  what  part  they  have  to  play,  the  time  will 
Come,  and  when  it  comes  I  will  see  it  all,  and 
thank  God  for  every  condition  just  as  it  came. 
Each  one  is  so  apt  to  think  that  his  own  con- 


WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING         209 

ditions,  his  own  trials  or  troubles  or  sorrows,  or 
his  own  struggles,  as  the  case  may  be,  are 
greater  than  those  of  the  great  mass  of  mankind, 
or  possibly  greater  than  those  of  any  one  else  in 
the  world.  He  forgets  that  each  one  has  his 
own  peculiar  trials  or  troubles  or  sorrows  to 
bear,  or  struggles  in  habits  to  overcome,  and 
that  his  is  but  the  common  lot  of  all  the  human 
race.  We  are  apt  to  make  the  mistake  in  this  — 
in  that  we  see  and  feel  keenly  our  own  trials,  or 
adverse  conditions,  or  characteristics  to  be  over- 
come, while  those  of  others  we  do  not  see  so 
clearly,  and  hence  we  are  apt  to  think  that  they 
are  not  at  all  equal  to  our  own.  Each  has  his 
own  problems  to  work  out.  Each  must  work 
out  his  own  problems.  Each  must  grow  the 
insight  that  will  enable  him  to  see  what  the 
causes  are  that  have  brought  the  unfavorable 
conditions  into  his  life ;  each  must  grow  the 
strength  that  will  enable  him  to  face  these  con- 
ditions, and  to  set  into  operation  forces  that  will 
bring  about  a  different  set  of  conditions.  We 
may  be  of  aid  to  one  another  by  way  of  suggest- 
ion, by  way  of  bringing  to  one  another  a  knowl- 
edge of  certain  higher  laws  and  forces,  —  laws 
and  forces  that  will  make  it  easier  to  do  that 
which  we  would  do.  The  doing,  however,  must 
be  done  by  each  one  for  himself. 


2IO        WHAT   ALL  THE   WORLD'S   A-SEEKJNG 

And  so  the  way  to  get  out  of  any  conditions 
we  have  gotten  into,  either  knowingly  or  inad- 
vertently, either  intentionally  or  unintentionally, 
is  to  take  time  to  look  the  conditions  squarely 
in  the  face,  and  to  find  the  law  whereby  they 
have  come  about.  And  when  we  have  discov- 
ered the  law,  the  thing  to  do  is  not  to  rebel 
against  it,  not  to  resist  it,  but  to  go  with  it  by 
working  in  harmony  with  it.  If  we  work  in  har- 
mony with  it,  it  will  work  for  our  highest  good, 
and  will  take  us  wheresoever  we  desire.  If  we 
oppose  it,  if  we  resist  it,  if  we  fail  to  work  in 
harmony  with  it,  it  will  eventually  break  us  to 
pieces.  The  law  is  immutable  in  its  workings. 
Go  with  it,  and  it  brings  all  things  our  way; 
resist  it,  and  it  brings  suffering,  pain,  loss,  and 
desolation. 

But  a  few  days  ago  I  was  talking  with  a  lady; 
a  most  estimable  lady  living  on  a  little  New 
England  farm  of  some  five  or  six  acres.  Her 
husband  died  a  few  years  ago,  a  good-hearted, 
industrious  man,  but  one  who  spent  practically 
all  of  his  earnings  in  drink.  When  he  died  the 
little  farm  was  unpaid  for,  and  the  wife  found  her- 
self without  any  visible  means  of  support,  with 
a  family  of  several  to  care  for.  Instead  of  being 
discouraged  with  what  many  would  have  called 
her  hard  lot,  instead  of  rebelling  against  the 


WHAT   ALL   THE   WORLD'S   A-SEEKING        211 

circumstances  in  which  she  found  herself,  she 
faced  the  matter  bravely,  firmly  believing  that 
there  were  ways  by  which  she  could  manage, 
though  she  could  not  see  them  clearly  at  the 
time.  She  took  up  her  burden  where  she  found 
it,  and  went  bravely  forward.  For  several  years 
she  has  been  taking  care  of  summer  boarders 
,vho  come  to  that  part  of  the  country,  getting 
up  regularly,  she  told  me,  at  from  half-past 
three  to  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  work- 
ing until  ten  o'clock  each  night.  In  the  winter- 
time, when  this  means  of  revenue  is  cut  off,  she 
has  gone  out  to  do  nursing  in  the  country  round 
about.  In  this  way  the  little  farm  is  now  almost 
paid  for ;  her  children  have  been  kept  in  school, 
and  they  are  now  able  to  aid  her  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent.  Through  it  all  she  has  entertained 
no  fears  nor  forebodings;  she  has  shown  no 
rebellion  of  any  kind.  She  has  not  kicked 
against  the  circumstances  which  brought  about 
the  conditions  in  which  she  found  herself,  but 
she  has  put  herself  into  harmony  with  the  law 
that  would  bring  her  into  another  set  of  condi- 
tions. And  through  it  all,  she  told  me,  she  had 
been  continually  grateful  that  she  has  been  able 
to  work,  and  that  whatever  her  own  circum- 
stances have  been,  she  has  never  yet  failed  to 
find  some  one  whose  circumstances  were  still 


212         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

a  little  worse  than  hers,  and  for  whom  it  was 
not  possible  for  her  to  render  some  little  ser- 
vice. 

Most  heartily  she  appreciates  the  fact,  and 
most  grateful  is  she  for  it,  that  the  little  home 
is  now  almost  paid  for,  and  soon  no  more  of  her 
earnings  will  have  to  go  out  in  that  channel. 
The  dear  little  home,  she  said,  would  be  all  the 
more  precious  to  her  by  virtue  of  the  fact  that 
it  was  finally  hers  through  her  own  efforts.  The 
strength  and  nobility  of  character  that  have  come 
to  her  during  these  years,  the  sweetness  of  dis- 
position, the  sympathy  and  care  for  others,  her 
faith  in  the  final  triumph  of  all  that  is  honest 
and  true  and  pure  and  good,  are  qualities  that 
thousands  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  women, 
yes,  of  both  men  and  women,  who  are  appar- 
ently in  better  circumstances  in  life  can  justly 
envy.  And  should  the  little  farm  home  be  taken 
away  to-morrow,  she  has  gained  something  that 
a  farm  of  a  thousand  acres  could  not  buy.  By 
going  about  her  work  in  the  way  she  has  gone 
about  it  the  burden  of  it  all  has  been  light- 
ened, and  her  work  has  been  made  truly  en- 
joyable. 

Let  us  take  a  moment  to  see  how  these  same 
conditions  would  have  been  met  by  a  person  of 
less  wisdom,  one  not  so  far-sighted  as  this  dear, 


WHAT  ALL  THE  WORLD'S  A-SEEKING      213 

good  woman  has  been.  For  a  time  possibly 
her  spirit  would  have  been  crushed.  Fears  and 
forebodings  of  all  kinds  would  probably  have 
taken  hold  of  her,  and  she  would  have  felt  that 
nothing  that  she  could  do  would  be  of  any 
avail.  Or,  she  might  have  rebelled  against  the 
agencies,  against  the  law  which  brought  about 
the  conditions  in  which  she  found  herself,  and 
she  might  have  become  embittered  against  the 
world,  and  gradually  also  against  the  various 
people  with  whom  she  came  in  contact.  Or 
again,  she  might  have  thought  that  her  efforts 
would  be  unable  to  meet  the  circumstances,  and 
that  it  was  the  duty  of  some  one  to  lift  her  out  of 
her  difficulties.  In  this  way  no  progress  at  all 
would  have  been  made  towards  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  desired  results,  and  continually  she 
would  have  felt  more  keenly  the  circumstances 
in  which  she  found  herself,  because  there  was 
nothing  else  to  occupy  her  mind.  In  this  way 
the  little  farm  would  not  have  become  hers,  she 
would  not  have  been  able  to  do  anything  for 
others,  and  her  nature  would  have  become  em- 
bittered against  everything  and  everybody. 

True  it  is,  then,  not,  What  are  the  conditions 
in  one's  life?  but,  How  does  he  meet  the  condi- 
tions that  he  finds  there?  This  will  determine 
all.  And  if  at  any  time  we  are  apt  to  think 


214         WHAT    ALL   THE    WORLD'S   A-SEEKING 

that  our  own  lot  is  about  the  hardest  there  is, 
and  if  we  are  able  at  any  time  to  persuade  our- 
selves that  we  can  find  no  one  whose  lot  is  just 
a  little  harder  than  ours,  let  us  then  study  for  a 
little  while  the  character  Pompilia,  in  Brown- 
ing's poem,*  and  after  studying  it,  thank  God 
that  the  conditions  in  our  life  are  so  favorable ; 
and  then  set  about  with  a  trusting  and  intrepid 
spirit  to  actualize  the  conditions  that  we  most 
desire. 

Thought  is  at  the  bottom  of  all  progress  or 
retrogression,  of  all  success  or  failure,  of  all 
that  is  desirable  or  undesirable  in  human  life. 
The  type  of  thought  we  entertain  both  creates 
and  draws  conditions  that  crystallize  about  it, 
conditions  exactly  the  same  in  nature  as  is  the 
thought  that  gives  them  form.  Thoughts  are 
forces,  and  each  creates  of  its  kind,  whether  we 
realize  it  or  not.  The  great  law  of  the  drawing 
power  of  the  mind,  which  says  that  like  creates 
like,  and  that  like  attracts  like,  is  continually 
working  in  every  human  life,  for  it  is  one  of  the 
great  immutable  laws  of  the  universe.  For  one 
to  take  time  to  see  clearly  the  things  he  would 
attain  to,  and  then  to  hold  that  ideal  steadily 
and  continually  before  his  mind,  never  allowing 

*  "The  Ring  and  the  Book,"  by  Robert  Browning. 


WHAT   ALL  THE   WORLD'S   A-SEEKING        21$ 

faith  —  his  positive  thought-forces  —  to  give  way 
to  or  to  be  neutralized  by  doubts  and  fears,  and 
then  to  set  about  doing  each  day  what  his  hands 
find  to  do,  never  complaining,  but  spending  the 
time  that  he  would  otherwise  spend  in  com- 
plaint in  focusing  his  thought-forces  upon  the 
ideal  that  his  mind  has  built,  will  sooner  or  later 
bring  about  the  full  materialization  of  that  for 
which  he  sets  out. 

There  are  those  who,  when  they  begin  to 
grasp  the  fact  that  there  is  what  we  may  term  a 
"  science  of  thought,"  who,  when  they  begin 
to  realize  that  through  the  instrumentality  of 
our  interior,  spiritual  thought-forces  we  have 
the  power  of  gradually  moulding  the  every-day 
conditions  of  life  as  we  would  have  them,  in 
their  early  enthusiasm  are  not  able  to  see  results 
as  quickly  as  they  expect,  and  are  apt  to  think, 
therefore,  that  after  all  there  is  not  very  much 
in  that  which  has  but  newly  come  to  their 
knowledge.  They  must  remember,  however, 
that  in  endeavoring  to  overcome  an  old  or  to 
grow  a  new  habit,  everything  cannot  be  done 
all  at  once. 

In  the  degree  that  we  attempt  to  use  the 
thought-forces  do  we  continually  become  able 
to  use  them  more  effectively.  Progress  is  slow 
at  first,  more  rapid  as  we  proceed.  Power  grows 


2l6        WHAT   ALL   THE   WORLD*  S   A-SEEKING 

* 

by  using,  or,  in  other  words,  using  brings  a  con- 
tinually increasing  power.  This  is  governed  by 
law  the  same  as  are  all  things  in  our  lives,  and 
all  things  in  the  universe  about  us.  Every  act 
and  advancement  made  by  the  musician  is  in 
full  accordance  with  law.  No  one  commencing 
the  study  of  music  can,  for  example,  sit  down 
to  the  piano  and  play  the  piece  of  a  master  at 
the  first  effort.  He  must  not  conclude,  however, 
nor  does  he  conclude,  that  the  piece  of  the  mas- 
ter cannot  be  played  by  him,  or,  for  that  matter, 
by  any  one.  He  begins  to  practise  the  piece. 
The  law  of  the  mind  that  we  have  already  no- 
ticed comes  to  his  aid,  whereby  his  mind  follows 
the  music  more  readily,  more  rapidly,  and  more 
surely  each  succeeding  time,  and  there  also 
comes  into  operation  and  to  his  aid  the  law  un- 
derlying the  action  of  the  reflex  nerve  system 
of  the  body,  which  we  have  also  noticed,  where- 
by his  fingers  coordinate  their  movements  with 
the  movements  of  his  mind,  more  readily,  more 
rapidly,  and  more  accurately  each  succeeding 
time;  until  by  and  by  the  time  comes  when 
that  which  he  stumbles  through  at  first,  that  in 
which  there  is  no  harmony,  nothing  but  discord, 
finally  reveals  itself  as  the  music  of  the  master, 
the  music  that  thrills  and  moves  masses  of  men 
and  women.  So  it  is  in  the  use  of  the  thought- 


WHAT  ALL  THE  WORLD'S  A-SEEKING      217 

forces.  It  is  the  reiteration,  the  constant  reiter- 
ation of  the  thought  that  grows  the  power  of 
continually  stronger  thought-focusing,  and  that 
finally  brings  manifestation. 

All  life  is  from  within  out.  This  is  something 
that  cannot  be  reiterated  too  often.  The  springs 
of  life  are  all  from  within.  This  being  true,  it 
would  be  well  for  us  to  give  more  time  to  the 
inner  life  than  we  are  accustomed  to  give  to  it, 
especially  in  this  Western  world. 

There  is  nothing  that  will  bring  us  such  abun- 
dant returns  as  to  take  a  little  time  in  the  quiet 
each  day  of  our  lives.  We  need  this  to  get  the 
kinks  out  of  our  minds  and  hence  out  of  our  lives. 
We  need  this  to  form  better  the  higher  ideals  of 
life.  We  need  this  in  order  to  see  clearly  in 
mind  the  things  upon  which  we  would  concen- 
trate and  focus  the  thought-forces.  We  need 
this  in  order  to  make  continually  anew  and  to 
keep  our  conscious  connection  with  the  Infinite. 
We  need  this  in  order  that  the  rush  and  hurry 
of  our  every-day  life  does  not  keep  us  away 
from  the  conscious  realization  of  the  fact  that 
the  spirit  of  Infinite  life  and  power  that  is  back 
of  all,  working  in  and  through  all,  the  life  of  all, 
is  the  life  of  our  life,  and  the  source  of  our 
power ;  and  that  outside  of  this  we  have  no  life 


2l8         WHAT   ALL,  THE   WORLD'S   A-SEEKING 

and  we  have  no  power.  To  realize  this  fact 
fully,  and  to  live  in  it  consciously  at  all  times,  is 
to  find  the  kingdom  of  God,  which  is  essentially 
an  inner  kingdom,  and  can  never  be  anything 
else.  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  to  be  found 
only  within,  and  this  is  done  once  for  all,  and  in 
a  manner  in  which  it  cannot  otherwise  be  done, 
when  we  come  into  the  conscious,  living  reali- 
zation of  the  fact  that  in  our  real  selves  we  are 
essentially  one  with  the  Divine  life,  and  open 
ourselves  continually  so  that  this  Divine  life  can 
speak  to  and  manifest  through  us.  In  this  way 
we  come  into  the  condition  where  we  are  con- 
tinually walking  with  God.  In  this  way  the 
consciousness  of  God  becomes  a  living  reality 
in  our  lives ;  and  in  the  degree  in  which  it  be- 
comes a  reality  does  it  bring  us  into  the  realiza- 
tion of  continually  increasing  wisdom,  insight, 
and  power.  This  consciousness  of  God  in  the 
soul  of  man  is  the  essence,  indeed  the  sum  and 
substance  of  all  religion.  This  identifies  religion 
with  every  act  and  every  moment  of  every-day 
life.  That  which  does  not  identify  itself  with 
every  moment  of  every  day  and  with^  every  act 
of  life  is  religion  in  name  only  and  not  in  reality. 
This  consciousness  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man  is 
the  one  thing  uniformly  taught  by  all  the 
prophets,  by  all  the  inspired  ones,  by  all  the 


WHAT   ALL,   THE   WORLD'S   A-SEEKING        219 

seers  and  mystics  in  the  world's  history,  what- 
ever the  time,  wherever  the  country,  whatever 
the  religion,  whatever  minor  differences  we  may 
find  in  their-  lives  and  teachings.  In  regard  to 
this  they  all  agree ;  indeed,  this  is  the  essence 
of  their  teaching,  as  it  has  also  been  the  secret 
of  their  power  and  the  secret  of  their  lasting 
influence. 

It  is  the  attitude  of  the  child  that  is  necessary 
before  we  can  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
As  it  was  said,  "  Except  ye  become  as  little 
children,  ye  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."  For  we  then  realize  that  of  ourselves 
we  can  do  nothing,  but  that  it  is  only  as  we 
realize  that  it  is  the  Divine  life  and  power 
working  within  us,  and  it  is  only  as  we  open 
ourselves  that  it  may  work  through  us,  that  we 
are  or  can  do  anything.  It  is  thus  that  the 
simple  life,  which  is  essentially  the  life  of  the 
greatest  enjoyment  and  the  greatest  attainment, 
is  entered  upon. 

In  the  Orient  the  people  as  a  class  take  far 
more  time  in  the  quiet,  in  the  silence,  than  we 
take.  Some  of  them  carry  this  possibly  to  as 
great  an  extreme  as  we  carry  the  opposite,  with 
the  result  that  they  do  not  actualize  and  ob- 
jectify in  the  outer  life  the  things  they  dream  in 
the  inner  life.  We  give  so  much  time  to  the 


22O         WHAT    ALL   THE    WORLD  S    A-SEEKING 

activities  of  the  outer  life  that  we  do  not  take 
sufficient  time  in  the  quiet  to  form  in  the  inner, 
spiritual  thought-life  the  ideals  and  the  condi- 
tions that  we  would  have  actualized  and  mani- 
fested in  the  outer  life.  The  result  is  that  we 
take  life  in  a  kind  of  haphazard  way,  taking  it  as 
it  comes,  thinking  not  very  much  about  it  until, 
perhaps,  pushed  by  some  bitter  experiences, 
instead  of  moulding  it,  through  the  agency  of 
the  inner  forces,  exactly  as  we  would  have  it. 
We  need  to  strike  the  happy  balance  between 
the  custom  in  this  respect  of  the  Eastern  and 
Western  worlds,  and  go  to  the  extreme  of  neither 
the  one  nor  the  other.  This  alone  will  give 
the  ideal  life ;  and  it  is  the  ideal  life  only  that 
is  the  thoroughly  satisfactory  life.  In  the  Orient 
there  are  many  who  are  day  after  day  sitting  in 
the  quiet,  meditating,  contemplating,  idealizing, 
with  their  eyes  focused  on  their  stomach  in 
spiritual  revery,  while  through  lack  of  outer 
activities,  in  their  stomachs  they  are  actually 
starving.  In  this  Western  world,  men  and 
women,  in  the  rush  and  activity  of  our  accus- 
tomed life,  are  running  hither  and  thither,  with 
no  centre,  no  foundation  upon  which  to  stand, 
nothing  to  which  they  can  anchor  their  lives, 
because  they  do  not  take  sufficient  time  to  come 
into  the  realization  of  what  the  centre,  of  what 
the  reality  of  their  lives  is. 


WHAT   ALL   THE   WORLD'S   A-SEEKING        221 

If  the  Oriental  would  do  his  contemplating,  and 
then  get  up  and  do  his  work,  he  would  be  in  a 
better  condition ;  he  would  be  living  a  more 
normal  and  satisfactory  life.  If  we  in  the 
Occident  would  take  more  time  from  the  rush 
and  activity  of  life  for  contemplation,  for  medi- 
tation, for  idealization,  for  becoming  acquainted 
with  our  real  selves,  and  then  go  about  our  work 
manifesting  the  powers  of  our  real  selves,  we 
would  be  far  better  off,  because  we  would  be 
living  a  more  natural,  a  more  normal  life.  To 
find  one's  centre,  to  become  centred  in  the 
Infinite,  is  the  first  great  essential  of  every  sat- 
isfactory life;  and  then  to  go  out,  thinking, 
speaking,  working,  loving,  living,  from  this 
centre. 

In  the  highest  character-building,  such  as  we 
have  been  considering,  there  are  those  who  feel 
they  are  handicapped  by  what  we  term  heredity. 
In  a  sense  they  are  right ;  in  another  sense  they 
are  totally  wrong.  It  is  along  the  same  lines  as 
the  thought  which  many  before  us  had  incul- 
cated in  them  through  the  couplet  in  the  New 
England  Primer :  "  In  Adam's  fall,  we  sinned 
all."  Now,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  rather  hard  to 
understand  the  justice  of  this  if  it  is  true.  In 
the  second  place,  it  is  rather  hard  to  under- 


222          WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

stand  why  it  is  true.  And  in  the  third  place 
there  is  no  truth  in  it  at  all.  We  are  now 
dealing  with  the  real  essential  self,  and,  how- 
ever old  Adam  is,  God  is  eternal.  This  means 
you  ;  it  means  me ;  it  means  every  human  soul. 
When  we  fully  realize  this  fact  we  see  that 
heredity  is  a  reed  that  is  easily  broken.  The 
life  of  every  one  is  in  his  own  hands  and  he  can 
make  it  in  character,  in  attainment,  in  power,  in 
divine  self-realization,  and  hence  in  influence, 
exactly  what  he  wills  to  make  it.  All  things 
that  he  most  fondly  dreams  of  are  his,  or  may 
become  so  if  he  is  truly  in  earnest ;  and  as  he 
rises  more  and  more  to  his  ideal,  and  grows  in 
the  strength  and  influence  of  his  character,  he 
becomes  an  example  and  an  inspiration  to  all 
with  whom  he  comes  in  contact ;  so  that  through 
him  the  weak  and  faltering  are  encouraged  and 
strengthened ;  so  that  those  of  low  ideals  and 
of  a  low  type  of  life  instinctively  and  inevitably 
have  their  ideals  raised,  and  the  ideals  of  no  one 
can  be  raised  without  its  showing  forth  in  his 
outer  life.  As  he  advances  in  his  grasp  upon 
and  understanding  of  the  power  and  potency  of 
the  thought-forces,  he  finds  that  many  times 
through  the  process  of  mental  suggestion  he 
can  be  of  tremendous  aid  to  one  who  is  weak 
and  struggling,  by  sending  to  him  now  and  then, 


WHAT   ALL   THE   WORLD'S    A-SEEKING        223 

and  by  continually  holding  him  in  the  highest 
thought,  in  the  thought  of  the  highest  strength, 
wisdom,  and  love. 

The  one  who  takes  sufficient  time  in  the 
quiet  mentally  to  form  his  ideals,  sufficient 
time  to  make  and  to  keep  continually  his  con- 
scious connection  with  the  Infinite,  with  the 
Divine  life  and  forces,  is  the  one  who  is  best 
adapted  to  the  strenuous  life.  He  it  is  who  can 
go  out  and  deal  with  sagacity  and  power  with 
whatever  issues  may  arise  in  the  affairs  of  every- 
day life.  He  it  is  who  is  building  not  for  the 
years,  but  for  the  centuries ;  not  for  time,  but 
for  the  eternities.  And  he  can  go  out  knowing 
not  whither  he  goes,  knowing  that  the  Divine 
life  within  him  will  never  fail  him,  but  will  lead 
him  on  until  he  beholds  the  Father  face  to 
face. 

He  is  building  for  the  centuries  because  only 
that  which  is  the  highest,  the  truest,  the  noblest, 
and  best  will  abide  the  test  of  the  centuries. 
He  is  building  for  eternity  because  when  the 
transition  we  call  death  takes  place,  life,  char- 
acter, self-mastery,  divine  self-realization, — 
the  only  things  that  the  soul  when  stripped 
of  everything  else  takes  with  it,  —  he  has  in 
abundance.  In  life,  or  when  the  time  of  the 
transition  to  another  form  of  life  comes,  he  is 


224         WHAT    ALL    THE    WORLD'S    A-SEEKING 

never  afraid,  never  fearful,  because  he  knows 
and  realizes  that  behind  him,  within  him,  beyond 
him,  is  the  Infinite  wisdom  and  love;  and  in 
this  he  is  eternally  centred,  and  from  it  he  can 
never  be  separated.  With  Whittier  he  sings : 

"  I  know  not  where  His  islands  lift 

Their  fronded  palms  in  air ; 
I  only  know  I  cannot  drift 
Beyond  His  love  and  care." 


A     000718408     8 


CENTRAL  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
University  of  California,  San  Diego 

DATE  DUE 


SEP 


SEP  4  9  ROT 


041986 


C/39 


t/CSD  Li5r. 


